


Liar, Liar

by darlingdearestdead



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, canon compliant except real canon coz they gay, fun i hope, sleeping together but like actually sleeping lmao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-08-11 11:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 47,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7889866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingdearestdead/pseuds/darlingdearestdead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cryptic notes have been turning up in the Slytherin Dorms. Scorpius and Albus can't deal with spending a whole summer apart. They need to discuss the mysteries piling up around them, escape their family, and spend as much time with each other as possible. Only Scorpius has to attend a family gathering where only significant others are allowed. </p><p>Sometimes, Scorpius doesn't think before he opens his mouth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Letters

**Author's Note:**

> I literally havent slept in days so there's bound to be some mistakes and I'm sorry okay. I saw Cursed Child yesterday and was like omg these kids r so gay for each other n then they weren't??? So i had to change that. Also, fake dating AUs are my one and only love. Apart from Scorpius who I'm obsessed with and may possibly be the best character in the whole HP canon. Definitely planning on continuing when I get the chance just can't promise a schedule. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

“It makes sense. Look, we know from my Dad that there’s this movement thing to release Delphi and it seems more than likely that there’s people at Hogwarts involved!”

“Albus” Scorpius sighed, “I don’t think Martin Zabini looking at you weirdly counts as suspicious.”

Albus was purposefully not looking at his best friend, his gaze firmly planted on the landscape passing by as the Hogwarts Express sped through the countryside on its way to Platform 9 and 3/4. He jiggled his leg uncomfortably, the tightness in his jaw refusing to loosen, and Scorpius looked down with another sigh. The truth was Albus wasn’t really sure why he was pushing this subject so hard but he couldn’t shake it. There had been things brewing recently in the past year and as much as his father didn’t want to admit it he could read it through the lines in his letters and Rose Granger-Weasley knew everything there was to know about anything and was not averse to letting Albus in on the Minister of Magic’s secrets. Namely, that the dark forces were mobilising and that there was a whisper among the back alleys of the Wizarding World that a plot was afoot. A plot that involved Hogwarts, Azkaban, and the daughter of Voldemort.

And then there was the note that Albus had found resting against his bed. Scrawled across the scrap of parchment were the words ‘We are watching’ with an unfamiliar Latin phrase written underneath.

“It’s not just Martin. Look, those notes we found.” Albus was insistent.

“Note. Singular.” Scorpius quipped.

“Yes. Whatever. The note. Look, I think we should take it more seriously.”

“I’m pretty sure it was a prank, you know because we’re losers who nearly brought about the next apocalypse?”

“I think we need to look into it more. Like read some books or something.”

“Oooh research!” Scorpius exclaimed, with genuine enthusiasm.

“Exactly, we need to look in both our libraries and see if we can find any reference to this castitatey  tenebraey thingy.” Albus nodded decisively.

“I vote for telling the parents. Because you know, in case you forgot, kiiiiinddaa didn’t go so well when we tried to fix everything alone.”

“No, I don’t want to make my Dad get all freaked out again.” Albus moaned. “Because if it’s not something it’s just nothing.”

“Eloquent. But I thought you’d sorted out everything with your Dad.”

“Well, I mean we did. But I don’t want him going totally insane you never know. Like last time when we were banned from seeing each other.”

“Ah. Right.” Scorpius sucked in a breath through his teeth.

“Right.”

“It’s probably not something. You know, the other thing, it’s the nothing. Nothing. That’s the one. Just Martin looking at you.”

“He was looking at me funny.” Albus huffed. “Kept staring at me all throughout Herbology. I just think something fishy is going on - the notes, the rumours.”

Though the note was not conclusive proof of anything and the rumours whispered between students were no more solid then the claim that Scorpius wasn’t a true Malfoy, Albus could not shake the feeling that something more was going on. However, it was possible - maybe even plausible - that his fixation on these claims didn’t have that much to do with the actual likelihood of their validity. More than anything, Albus just couldn’t stop thinking about the days of summer that stretched long ahead of him without his best friend by his side. The plots and the notes and the research almost felt like a bit of an excuse. Since last year, the year of alternate universes and time travelling, Scorpius and Albus had become even more inseparable and the idea of summer seemed endless without his friend constantly within reach.

Okay, so he wasn’t _that_ co-dependent and they’d both actually been making an effort to make more friends and be less isolated. Rose had been spending some time with them recently, since Scorpius’ oddly misplaced crush had simmered down into slightly too fervent admiration, and she had plenty of friends that came along with her. Even their dorm mates were being friendly since the news of their saving the world had spread throughout the school – despite the tiny little detail that they’d inadvertently caused all the conflicts in the first place. He was even looking forward to seeing his Mum and Dad too now that their fighting was kinda sort of behind them and he knew that he’d be writing to Scorpius all the time. And yet, he couldn’t shake the bad mood that had hung over him ever since they boarded the train.

“Maybe Martin just fancies you.” Scorpius joked, gently kicking his best friend’s shin. “Probably hasn’t heard you’re much more into the older gals.”

He wiggled his eyebrows comically and Albus just rolled his eyes.

“I’ve heard you only like girls with a dark side……” Scorpius continued, exaggerating his voice to a deep ominous tone to try elicit a chuckle from his friend.

Albus finally looked up and the corner of his mouth turned up just slightly and another wiggle from Scorpius eyebrows turned it into a full blown smile.

“You’d know all about it wouldn’t you? Scorpion King.” Albus teased.

“I’ll have you know I am an expert on romance. They call me Scorpio the Sensual… Malfoy the Magnificent…”

“Oh right, and this was before or after my cousin turned you down in the Great Hall in front of everyone?”

“Hey! Me and Rose decided we were just better off as friends.” Scorpius sniffed.

“Right.” He stretched the word out disbelievingly. “Or did Rose finally convince you she was never going to date someone who told her she smelt like bread?”

“It was mutual. We both decided that the seed we’d planted, the acorn of our love, was never destined to grow.”

“You’re a right weirdo mate.” Albus laughed, nudging him with his foot.

“Yuhuh!” Scorpius grinned, nodding proudly like a child showing off something really disgusting that he’d found.

The carriage compartment filled with the sounds of the two boys laughing making the dark cloud that had settled on Albus’ shoulder lift for just a second. That was until they both noticed the train slowing down as it approached the station.

“We should get our stuff.” Albus said after a second and Scorpius just nodded without saying a word.

As they gathered their various belongings that lay strewn across the compartment, a weight settled onto Scorpius’ stomach that he had come to associate with leaving Albus. Whenever he thought about the world he’d experienced, a world where his best friend had never existed, and the panic he felt when he’d resurfaced alone, the weight became so bad it nearly choked him. Sometimes he had nightmares about that time and got up just to peek through the curtains of Albus’ four poster bed and check he was still there and breathing.

He liked summer. He liked being able to walk around without whispers following him. He liked days where he was free to read whatever he wanted all day without reproach. He liked spending time with his Dad, knew it was good for his father to have his company, and they liked to play chess together or go on long walks through the Manor grounds.

But Malfoy Manor was cold and empty and echoing with just him and his Dad. He missed Albus a lot the few years before but he knew after the events of last year that it would be much worse.   

The door of their compartment flung open.

“Hello boys.” Rose stood in the doorway, grinning. “Time to depart and meet up with the parents."

“Hello Rose,” Scorpius was smiling again “You’re looking..- clean.”

His infatuation with the Gryffindor had passed, but Scorpius was still intimidated by the frankly, quite terrifying Granger-Weasley with her prettiness, ambition, and smarts.

“Still so weird.” Rose muttered under her breath, leading the way through the train knowing, as per usual, that everyone else was following behind.

{}

“Albus!” Harry called out, tentatively enthusiastic at seeing his middle child emerge onto the platform. “Over here!”

Harry had an arm wrapped around the waist of Ginny, who was waving enthusiastically at her children streaming off the train. Albus rolled his eyes but he was begrudgingly smiling at his family, whereas Scorpius was positively beaming and returning the wave with gusto.

Albus gave a little double take when he saw his Dad turn back and share a little chuckle with the man stood just behind him: Draco Malfoy.

“Wow.” He whispered in Scorpius’ ear, his warm breath sending an odd shiver down the other boy’s neck. “Since when were our parents friends?”

“Probably around the time we decided to go travelling through time?” Scorpius offered.

“Probably.” Albus snorted. “C’mon, let’s get it over with. “

They began to make their way over to their parents before being very nearly bowled over by the youngest of the Potter clan.

“Dad!” Lily cried, running straight into her father’s waiting arms. “Just how much did you miss me?”

“Oh, almost an unspeakable amount Lils.” Harry joked, wrapping his arms around his only daughter and giving her a small peck on the top of her head.

Ginny Potter watched fondly as her husband and child embraced before something over the top of their heads caused her to roll her eyes in resignation and exasperation.

“James Sirius Potter, I can see you you know. If you would deign to detach yourself from that poor girls face to say hello to your family any time soon that would be nice…” She shouted.

It took a few more moments for James to fully disentangle himself.

“Ah Mum,” He was taller than her nowadays, and liked to take full advantage by slinging his arm around her shoulders. “How I’ve missed hearing my full name! People at Hogwarts just don’t have the time like you do.”

“Can’t quit being a prat for five minutes can you James?” She asked, laughing as she pulled her sons head down to give him a purposefully embarrassing kiss on the cheek.

“Language!” James trilled, his Mum shoved him just a little but she was laughing too.

“Your family is so damn smiley.” Scorpius murmured, as he and Albus approached bringing up the rear.

“Says the boy who is smiling so hard I’m a little worried he’s about to break his face?” Albus shot back.

“Mock my joy why don’t you!”

Albus was spared the chance to respond by his father’s voice.

“Albus!” Harry called again, taking a slightly awkward step forward and then thinking better of it as the streams of hurried students and families blocked his path.

He would have most certainly denied it had he been asked, but at the sound of his father’s hopeful voice and smile Albus sped up so he could reach the rest of his family just that little bit quicker. It was nice to not feel the odd discomfort which quite often came at the first glimpse of his family. He’d grown used to the small stream of resentment that welled up with him at the sight of his father’s smiling face but there now lay a steady feeling of contentment mostly washing away the bitterness left within him.

“How’ve you been?” Harry asked, pulling him into a tight hug and resisting the urge to ruffle the messy hair that so resembled his own.

“Great, thanks. No more trouble or anything.” He laughed, it was nervous and awkward and nice all at the same time.

“And Scorpius,” Harry looked over the shoulder of his son. “You look well.”

“Oh you know me Mr Potter! Fit as a fiddle! Ha ha,” Scorpius wasn’t sure why he thought it was appropriate to hum a little tune but he always got nervous around his friend’s father. “I’m fine.”

“Scorpius.” His own father nodded, pulling him into a quick one armed hug that made his son’s already wide smile grow even bigger. “It’s nice to have you back.”

Scorpius backed away from the embrace after a second, ducking his head slightly and brushing his hair behind his ear in an oddly endearing manner. Albus’ throat tightened just a little, as he turned to catch his friend’s eye.

“Well, bye.” Albus said bluntly, feeling suddenly ill at ease surrounded by his entire extended family.

“Yeah. Um, see you later.” Scorpius nodded jerkily.

“Maybe,” Albus coughed slightly. “You could come stay some time? Over the holidays?”

A small smile spread out on Scorpius pale face and he nodded again, much more quickly and enthusiastically than before.

“I’ll ask my Dad.” He promised.

“Good. Great.”

“And you’ll write won’t you? Even if I can’t stay?” Scorpius asked suddenly desperate, as he did every time they left King’s Cross as if their friendship was so tentative that it would disappear as soon as they lost sight of each other.

“All the time I promise.” Albus nodded solemnly.

There was a pause. A second where the moment teetered on either side of something. Then Albus flung himself forward grabbing his friend into a tight, rib-crushing hug.

“Oh the hugging thing, I forgot we did the whole hug thing.” Scorpius said, sounding flustered.

“I thought it felt like an us sort of thing to do.” Albus replied, before pulling back slightly. “But if you’re uncomf-“

“No.” Scorpius said too quickly, pulling him tighter into their embrace. “No, I think it’s definitely very Albus-Scorpius. Alpius? Scorbus?”

“I think you should just stick with our actual names for now.” Albus chuckled.

The two boys lapsed into an easy silence; happy just to enjoy the closeness and warmth that their hug provided them with.

“Al.” Ginny called out softly, breaking the moment. “I think it’s probably time to leave before James manages to cause too much trouble.”

“Oy. I’m offended by your insinuation.” James called out cheerily.

“James I _just_ watched you charm Lily’s hair green.” She retorted. “Please change it back before I’m forced to show you why my bat bogey hex was so legendary.”

“Fiesty.” James laughed, but dutifully spelled his sister’s hair back to its normal shade of red.

Lily pouted, just a little, as if she was truly sad that her hair was no longer fluorescent but she soon grew too distracted by her friends’ promises and goodbyes to bother whining.

“C’mon Potters! Let’s make a move!” Harry shouted, gathering his children together and just hoping and praying that no luggage, or human, was left behind.

And thus, with one last glimpse and wave, the Potters and Malfoys parted ways.

{}

_Dear Scorp,_

_Hello. I have been home approximately 3 hours and am writing because 1. I wanted to show you that I was keeping my promise and 2. My family might possibly be weirder than I remembered ??!?_

_I started to unpack today and my Dad has come in a total of SIX times to just cough awkwardly in the doorway, splutter a bit, and then leave. I think he’s trying to bond, please send help immediately. The last time he came in he coughed loudly asked me if I had a girlfriend or a boyfriend because who knows he loves me anyway and then he left again when I told him to please just leave me alone. _

_Also, James has invited his girlfriend home for summer and is currently freaking out all over the house which is making me almost wish I was back at school. Are twenty bullying Gryffindors worse than one who won’t stop asking us if we think Jessica will like our curtains?_

_I CANNOT BELIEVE I ever thought James was good with girls, if I ever ask him for advice again please slap me and remind me of this exact moment. Oh my Dumbledore, James just came in to tell me to clean my room. I’m not even sure my mum has asked me to clean my room since I went to Hogwarts. And why would his girlfriend be examining my room anyway ????_

_HELP I am dying without you._

_Which brings me to my next point… Mum just corned me asking when you were coming to stay with us this summer because she thinks it’s about time and she also wants to make up for my Dad being the world’s worst prat last year by making it very very clear that you’re always welcome at the Potter household and blah blah blah. She even said your Dad was welcome to come to dinner with us if he wants, so I’m dutifully passing on the message. Please come visit so I don’t die of boredom before we can even begin our fifth year, if not I may end up murdering my siblings and I don’t think I’d do well in Azkaban._

_Also (and keep your pants on) Rose and Aunt Hermione are coming to visit tomorrow and I’m gonna try think of a way to lend some books from her so we can start properly researching all this stuff. I know you practically crapped yourself at the idea of all the old books that the Minister for Magic might own, Merlin  knows you enjoyed the books that very nearly ate us alive in her office, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up just yet. I need to be subtle enough that neither of them are suspicious about my sudden interest in Wizarding history._

_Anyway, I’ll try. As you know I am GREAT with distractions, so I’ll probably figure something out. Write back soon!!_

_Albus._

{}

_Dear Albus,_

_Hello!!! I’m so glad you wrote me so quickly, the house is SO quiet with just me, Dad, and the house elves. Dad’s doing this new thing where he’s trying to be nice and ask me questions about lots of things which is kinda odd but kinda nice too. We’ve already played a game of Wizard’s chess (which I won (of course)) and I definitely foresee a LOT more nights like this in my future. Which is nice but I miss when we play chess and you go all sarcastic and Albus-y when I’m beating you and then winning feels even better._

_Your house sounds mad! In the best way though! Also, I’m definitely going to remember the curtains story next time I see your brother holding court at the Gryffindor table. And I already told you never to listen to your brother ever. Next time just come to me for romantic advice. You do remember that Polly Chapman asked ME  out before???? And I don’t care if it was in a horrible alternative universe because it definitely still happened._

_I’ve already looked through the Malfoy Manor library to see if there’s any books that might be helpful and scanned a few but saw no mention of Castitate et Tenebrae but I’ll look through it more later tonight. I sort of mumbled the phrase under my breath in front of my Dad to see if he’d react but I think he thought I just sneezed and said bless you. Anyway, I wish I was there when your Aunt and cousin come round (not for Rose you idiot!!) because they know I’m a huge geek and there is nothing suspicious about me asking about books. Actually, while they're round can you ask them if they have a copy of The Vampiric Vernacular ??? It’s been checked out of Hogwarts for ages and I’ve never been able to find it in Diagon Alley. Although, obviously, not a priority._

_I asked my Dad about staying with you for summer!!! And then he got weird, and mumbled something and changed the subject. I’m sure it’s not about you, and he seemed really touched that your Mum invited him for dinner. He said he’d give you his answer as soon as possible but to say thanks so there’s that. I’ll ask him again tomorrow and get a proper answer._

_Let me know how it goes with your Aunt!! Or if you think anything suspicious is going on but please try to refrain from making any terrible plans which might put us in mortal danger again. I quite like living in this world with you so far._

_Write Soon._

_Scorpius._

_P.S. Please find enclosed some Peppermint Imps. I told the house elves they were my favourite sweets and now they won’t stop giving me them. They’ve been overcompensating since Mum died. Enjoy!_

{}

_Scorpius._

_BIG NEWS. ANOTHER NOTE CAME.. This is definitely getting creepy now. If it was a prank then why would they be sending them to my home? That’s a little extreme even for the idiots who delight in torturing us at Hogwarts._

_Okay, so it’s signed Castitate et Tenebrae, just like the last one, okay and then before that it says…._

_We are still here._

_We are always watching._

_To bring in a new age._

_Then there’s a load of weird symbols around the edge that you’d be better taking a look at in person. I’ve tried to do some drawings of them but they don’t quite translate. You should really see them in person. I’m hoping that your dad says yes and you can come round soon so you can really take a look at them._

_I’ll try to send this as soon as possible but Jennifer (James’ girlfriend) gets here today so James is having a panic attack and we’re all quite busy. Mum told me that our little adventure in time was less stressful than this visit but then she felt guilty and took it back._

_Me and Dad have broken a new record of not fighting in the summer holidays but who knows how long this will continue. Not sure how much faith I have in our relationship but we’ll see. He’s laid off on the hovering though so that’s something._

_OH, and I got NOTHING from the Aunt Hermione/Rose visit. I told them that I knew you were interested in this stuff -thanks for the idea- and that I was looking to surprise you with some stuff. Rose then got all smirky and it went weird. Whatever. But Hermione does have a copy of The Vampiric Vernacular and apparently you’re welcome to borrow it so I’ve sent it along with this letter. I think if I’d known what books I was looking for to research the letter then it would’ve worked but I didn’t think of that._

_Let me know what you think about the new note. And don’t forget to ask your Dad again!_

_Albus._

_P.S. Thank you for the sweets. I’ve sent along some Ginger cake my Dad baked. Nothing tastes sweeter than parental guilt! Even when that cake is sugar free._

{}

_Hey Albus!_

_I’ll admit this is definitely getting creepy. I mean not alarm-bells-in-my-head-creepy but pretty out there. But I’m not so sure that either of us have the best judgement so who knows. Still against bringing in the adults?_

_THANK YOU for the book. Or I guess thank your Aunt. So far it’s great but not helpful for this mystery. I’ve read four books on our recent Wizarding history and five more historically ones. Nothing so far. The language structure is definitely Latin. OOH maybe look it up in the muggle thing?? A dictionary!! Do you own a dictionary? I hope so I’d love to look through it._

_I hope the James girlfriend’s visit goes well. About my visit. Well, I asked my Dad and he said something about Malfoy tradition holiday with some extended relatives (don’t worry the liberal ones I checked) and Grandma and that we shouldn’t be by ourselves this summer and that I had to go and that was that but tell your Mum thanks. So tell Mrs Potter thanks._

_But. I want to see the note and you. So I was thinking I could ask if you could come with us? It might be a bit stuffy but definitely safe and we could hang out. I bet where we are going has a huge library with loads of resources. And I promise we’d have fun too._

_Tell me if I should ask and I will._

_Also, tell Mr Potter that his cake is incredible and I have no idea how he managed to make something taste so good without sugar. Hope to see you soon._

_Scorpius._

{}

_Scorp._

_Another letter! Nightmare at home! James and Jennifer snogging in every corner. No time to write a proper note. More symbols on this note. Really should see it yourself. Definitely ask your Dad I know mine will say yes! Let me know._

_Albus._

{}

Scorpius loved spending time with his father, especially nowadays knowing that for most of the year Draco Malfoy kept himself locked up and alone since the death of Astoria. He never really minded spending time at home, certainly hadn’t minded at all before he met Albus, but there was still something cold about the rooms in Malfoy Manor that could not be shaken even on the brightest day.

His mother had tried, redecorating and brightening the place with laughter and smiles. But there was only so much that could be done. It was as if the very walls leached the light and happiness from the rooms leaving them dark and cool.

Scorpius shivered over breakfast, pulling his wool dressing gown tighter around his pyjamas.

“Are you cold son?” Draco asked, peering over the top of his newspaper. “Do you want me to ask Sookie to build a fire in the fireplace?”

“No I’m fine thanks Dad.” He replied, tucking his hair behind his ears. “I was just wondering if we could talk about the trip this summer?”

“What about it?” Draco asked, trying to keep the worry from his voice as he folded his paper to show his son he was paying attention.

“I was just wondering what exactly it entailed…” Scorpius began.

“Well, it’s a tradition within the Malfoys for our families to gather together every five years as a reunion of sorts. It’s a way of keeping up tradition and of ensuring that we all stay in touch. It used to be a much more political event but it’s less.. focused than it used to be. But still, it’s vital to our families.

“Right.”

“Look,” Draco sighed. “I know you wanted to go to the Potters and any other year I would’ve said yes. But this is important to me and to your Grandmother. We never made it last time – your mother’s health – and well, it’s important to me Scorpius. I’m sorry.”

“No, no, no..” Scorpius stuttered. “Of course. Yes, right Dad, I mean I was actually just wondering – well, I mean. Me and Alb- we have lots of lessons together lots of work we could be doing with each other! Yes right. And I thought that maybe, possibly, Albus could come with us this year?”

Draco looked skywards, resisting the urge to rub the bridge of her nose and wishing his answer could be different.

“If I could I would gladly take Albus with us Scorpius, I may not have gotten on well with his parents but I know he’s a good kid and he’s good for you. But there’s rules to these gatherings. You can only take significant others, it’s part of the tradition.”

“What?” Scorpius asked, confused.

“If Albus was your boyfriend then yes, he could come. But otherwise I’m sorry Son-“

Scorpius had thought that since his little adventure in an alternate world he’d gotten pretty good at thinking on his feet. He hadn’t always been so comfortable with lying, but having been forced to lie in life or death situations he believed that he was getting a lot better at it. Which was why what happened next was completely inexplicable.

“Albus is my boyfriend.” He blurted out, almost involuntarily. “My significant other, my partner, my dating companion, my love-“

Scorpius’ cheeks flared bright red at the realisation that he was just about to call Albus his lover in front of his own Dad.

“You—and Albus?” Draco choked out, surprised at all this new information.

“Yup!” Scorpius nearly shouted, way too brightly and quickly. “So can he come with us?”

{}

_Hey Albus!_

_Just a quick heads up, accidentally told my Dad we were dating. Pretty sure he’s owling your parents right now. Sorry! Will explain later._

_Scorpius._

Albus read the note, twice, before he could even begin to understand what it was saying. He felt the back of his knees touch his bed as he sank down in utter shock. His brain was struggling, unable to make the connection between their last exchanges and the utterly bizarre circumstances that would’ve led to Scorpius falsely claiming that they were what? Boyfriends? His head was spinning. His parents were about to find out he had a (fake) boyfriend before he’d even had his first proper kiss.

This was too much. He felt a horrible sickening yearning to talk to Scorpius, have his dumb face in the room to just explain in his nerdy, roundabout way what the hell was actually happening. But the image of them, dating, shoved this out of his mind almost immediately. He wanted to laugh, picturing it, but a nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach contradicted that instinct too. His eyes shut, the note still clutched in his hands like a perverse anchor to reality. He was picturing them, his hands buried in platinum hair, Scorpius grabbing his hips to pull them closer together, lips touching, softly and then harder: his best friend undone at his touch.

What was wrong with him? He’d never thought about this before. Never even dreamt about anything remotely close to the images that that one note had elicited unwanted within his imagination. Albus felt heat radiating from his own cheeks and he knew that they were flushed bright red. Only, he couldn’t tell if it was because he was horrified at the very thought or he was horrified at the idea that he might quite like it.

“Albus,” His mother’s voice floated out from the bottom of the stairs. “Draco just sent us an owl. I think we probably need to talk.”


	2. Odd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Scorpius' letter. An awkward meeting. A series of firsts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 100% will have some mistakes I wont lie. So, sorry about that. Also very heavy in dialogue for this chapter maybe not really sure but yeah. I'm loving writing this but am also quite busy so who knows how quickly i'll be managing to update. I'll try. Enjoy! And as always please let me know what you think.

There were no denying the similarities between Draco and Scorpius, despite the rumours that had followed him from birth into his childhood. They both had the pale Malfoy complexion, lanky frame, and ice blonde hair to mark them as family.

But Draco tended to note the differences too.

As a child Draco had worn his hair slicked back and as an adult had embraced the Malfoy tradition of keeping his hair long but his son had not followed suit. Scorpius had seemed to take advice from the Potter family and wore his hair messy and slightly too long so that it curled a little by his ears and the nape of his neck.

The sharpness and pointed chin that often characterised the Malfoy clan had been softened in Scorpius’ more rounded face leaving his face sweeter and more open than most of his relatives.

But the difference that Draco focused on a lot were his son’s eyes. Sometimes it caught him off guard, the similarity between his only son and Astoria, and he had to stop to examine their round shape and the brown flecks within them.

When Scorpius stared at his father with those eyes, Draco felt the ghost of his wife in the room with them.

“Dad?” Scorpius asked tentatively, peering up at him, tense in the silence that followed his declaration.

“I’m sorry.” Draco began, his voice measured. “I’m just surprised. I, never thought. But I suppose this makes sense.”

It hadn’t occurred to Scorpius that his father might disapprove of this false relationship, after all he had been furious to see Scorpius crying when he’d been barred from seeing his best friend and had promised him that he would never try to part them himself, but suddenly he was gripped with terror at what was going through his father’s mind.

Maybe Draco approved of Albus’ friendship but he was still a Potter. A male Potter. Maybe Scorpius was going to have to take this all back before his father disowned his only heir. It was probably best to walk back the lie only he couldn’t figure out how to get the words out.

“Dad-“ Scorpius tried.

“No, Scorpius.” Draco struggled. “Just give me a second to process. I have something to say. I want you to know that I love you son, no matter what okay?”

Scorpius let out a breath he wasn’t even aware he was holding.

“I’m just a little blindsided-“ Draco admitted. “I thought you had a crush on the Granger-Weasley girl.”

Here was his out, to tell his father he was joking and admit a crush on Rose, but he couldn’t take it. He wanted Albus to come with them this summer, needed to see him, wanted to research with him, see the notes he had, and spend time with him and not just the legions of uptight relatives he didn’t know and who would, inevitably, not approve of him.

The words to lie had come out without thinking but the words to take it back dried up in his throat.

“Oh, I no.” Scorpius flushed. “No, I mean that was ages ago. I just thought she had nice- hair. I’m not interested and she thinks I’m a bread head. It’s just, - Albus.”

“Well, why did you,” Draco sighed, and tried again.“Why did you feel you couldn’t tell me?”

“I guess- it was new and I- we weren’t sure if we were ready or you’d approve. No one knows. I don’t know really. Just, a bit of secrecy keeps the romance alive..” Scorpius really wished he could stop singing random phrases whenever he got nervous.

“I’m glad you told me now. I want you to feel like you can speak to me about stuff Scorpius, even if it might seem difficult. I think Albus is a good kid. And, you two, well, it makes sense.”

“Right.” Scorpius nodded. “So he can come with us this summer?”

Draco blinked, having momentarily forgotten what had started this whole confession.

“Oh, well.” There was a pause. “I suppose I don’t see why not. It might be better for you to have some company. Although, you should be prepared for some shock and scrutiny about your relationship. And I, of course, will have to write to the Potters to discuss it.”

Scorpius paled, which was impressive considering his Malfoy complexion, and swallowed hard. It seemed unreal but this whole conversation he had barely even thinking about Albus and his family. How was Albus going to react? This was so dumb and avoidable and yet he could see no way around it.

And would it be worth it? Lying to spend time together? If this worked out then they’d be spending some significant chunks of time together. Scorpius felt a smile emerging just at the thought.

“Okay, gotta go send a letter.” With great energy he rushed from the room and towards his bedroom, Draco allowed himself a little smile and a chuckle before heading into the study to write the Potters a note.

{}

“Hey Al,” Ginny called again. “Are you coming?”

Albus was trying to get a message from his brain to his feet to act normal and get him downstairs before his mother burst into his room and demanded an explanation.

“Just a second!” Albus called, really hoping his voice wasn’t as strangled as it felt.

It was simple really: just one foot in front of the other. Try not to think about whether or not Scorpius had soft lips. Turn the door knob. Don’t think about running your hands through his hair like you’ve seen him do himself. Manoeuvre around James and his girlfriend cuddling on the stairs. Attempt not to picture them replaced with yourself and your best friend. Come face to face with a concerned and expecting mother.

“Albus,” She was smiling at him, he wanted to be sick. “Can you come in the kitchen a sec? Me and your Dad just wanna have a little chat.”

At that moment the kitchen door opened and Harry popped his head round the corner.

“Oh there you are Al—Albus!” Harry said, way too brightly. “Are you coming in?”

Albus squeezed his eyes shut tight and clenched his fists.

“This is about Scorpius isn’t it?” He blurted out.

“Oooh,” Lily appeared, skipping in from the living room with a devilish smile on her face. “This looks interesting.”

“Lily Luna Potter, go back in the living room.” Ginny sighed, not even bothering to look back at her only daughter.

“That means it’s _really_ interesting.” The youngest Potter grinned.

“Lily…” Harry began, a soft note of warning in his voice.

“Fine.” She huffed, disappearing round the corner.

Albus couldn’t look either of his parents in the eye, he walked straight past them through the kitchen door and sank down into his usual seat at the worn, wooden table.

 “We aren’t dating!” Albus insisted, as soon as his parents seated themselves opposite him.

Harry and Ginny exchanged looks.

“Al,” Ginny began softly. “It’s okay, listen Draco wrote us a note.”

Was it possible to die of embarrassment, confusion, and annoyance all at once? Because Albus was pretty sure it was about to happen to him.

“Albus.” His Dad tried. “Honestly we don’t-“

“Oh great Dad! Go back to never listening to me and never letting me say anything I mean, because you know best don’t you? You approve do you? Where was this _approval_ last year when you banned me from seeing him?”

“Albus.” Ginny scolded, and immediately he felt bad seeing the crestfallen look on his father’s face.

He knew that he his father was trying his best.

“I’m sorry Albus.” Harry began. “You know that I really regret my actions last year, I think that- Well, that Scorpius is actually really good for you Al. As friends, or, you know, as the note is suggesting, as something more.”

“We love Scorpius.” Ginny reached across the table to pat her son’s hand, he wanted to take it from her grip straight away but resisted the urge. “And we love you. We just want you to be happy, so if this is what makes you happy then we’re happy. Draco wrote us a letter, he told us-“

Albus wouldn’t look at them, he was suddenly very interested in the various scars and scuff marks that marred their kitchen table.

“Draco told us that Scorpius told him that you two have been dating for a while but you’ve been keeping it a secret from us and everyone at school. Apparently, Mal- Draco only got it out from Scorpius because he was trying to invite you to this gathering-“

His ears perked up at the sound of that.

“We understand.” Said Harry, desperately trying to reach out. “Your mother and I, we get why you might not have wanted to tell us. Well, how I reacted last year and-“

The moment hung in the air for a second.

“And he’s a boy.” Albus deadpanned.

“Right.” Harry continued, “But Albus, we really don’t care about any of it. You and Scorpius, I’ll just say that when we got the letter, well I guess it didn’t come as that much of a surprise.”

He was spared the chance to examine what exactly that meant by a loud crash as Lily fell through the doorway into the kitchen.

“Albus is gay!” Lily shouted, sounding oddly excited.

“I’m not gay!” Albus protested, his cheeks flaming.

“Lily!” Ginny shouted, sounding furious. “Sexuality is a spectrum, I’ve kissed girls but that doesn’t make me gay, I married your father didn’t I?”

“Wow.” Lily stated.

“And I’m _very_ thankful you did.” Harry murmured, nudging her suggestively.

“Dad please stop flirting with Mum when you’re trying to talk to me about my boyfriend.”  Albus groaned, before realising that he’d accidentally referred to Scorpius as his boyfriend in front of his parents. He was going along with the lie without even meaning to.

“Lils, just leave us alone for a bit okay?” Ginny said. “Otherwise you’ve seen the last of those damn fairy wings.”

Lily sniffed and complained and dragged her feet but she left the room with minimal pouting.

“Look, Draco suggested that me and your Dad come have dinner tomorrow night to discuss this all.”

“You’re having dinner at Malfoy Manor?” Albus asked incredulously.

“We’re having dinner there.” Harry elaborated. “Mum, me, you, Draco, and Scorpius. And then we can discuss the idea of you spending part of your summer with the Malfoys at their gathering okay?”

Despite the embarrassment, and the lies he found himself enfolded in, Albus felt a sense of joy at his father’s words. The idea that he was going to be seeing Scorpius the next day washed away the embarrassment and worry. He just had to hope that seeing Scorpius would make everything make sense again and the stupid thoughts that had been crowding his head since he’d received that stupid note would disappear.

{}

His parents were too busy flirting, exchanging meaningful glances, and clearing their throats awkwardly to stop Albus as he slipped from the room and headed upstairs to alternatively think about and do anything not to think about the coming day.

The thing with living in the Potter household was time alone was scarce and plans never really turned out the way you wanted them to.

“Hey Albus,” James appeared at the top of the stairs alone, miraculously disentangled from his girlfriend for the first time since she arrived, and blocked his younger brother’s path. “Can we talk?”

“No.” Albus replied bluntly, attempting to push past him.

“Look I’m not gonna tease you or anything, right this second I mean, just c’mon..” He pleaded.

Albus ignored him.

“Oh for Dumbledore’s sake,” He grumbled, before grabbing his brother by the forearm, manhandling him into the bathroom, and locking the door.

“James, gerroff me.” Albus struggled, scowling at him and wrenching free from his grasp.

“Look I’m trying to be nice, and brotherly, and bonding here.” James protested. “I’m pausing my marvellous wit for a second to you know, be here for you and stuff. You should be grateful!”

Albus was just hoping that if he simply ignored him his brother would get bored, he did have a short attention span, and eventually leave him alone.

“I heard what Lily said. That you’re gay and stuff.” James said, he was never one for subtlety. 

“I’m not gay.” Albus muttered.

“Okay, okay.” James put his hands up in surrender. “But well, Lily came and told me that you and Scorpius are dating.”

Silence.

“So…” James elongated the word.

“So, what?” Albus asked, crossing his arms in annoyance.

“So you and Scorpius? You’re dating?”

Albus mumbled something unintelligible under his breath.

“What?”

“Yes.” Albus exclaimed, a little too loudly. “Fine. Yes.”

“Awesome.” James was grinning, and slapped his brother on the back in a misguided friendly gesture. “I knew it.”

“You did not know it James.” He said, bitterly.

“I so did.” He was all smug now. “We all did. Every time you look at each other it’s like the birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and you’ve got love hearts circling your head.”

“James.” Albus said, warningly.

“What I’m _trying_ to say is- Well, look mate. Just, it’s good and stuff. You and Scorpius. He’s a good kid, a right weirdo, but so are you. I think it’s nice. And no one, well no one who matters, is gonna care that you’re ga-“

“For the last time James I’m not gay.”

“Likes boys then! I don’t know, whatever you want to call it. I’m just letting you know that it’s cool, with me and all of us.” James was still grinning, clapping a hand on his younger brother’s shoulder. 

“Wowee I feel so much better.” Albus said sarcastically.

“Hey,” James removed his hand. “I’m tryna be nice here.”

“I know.” Albus grumbled, acknowledging that it was something just short of a miracle that James was resisting the urge to mock him mercilessly. “Thanks. I guess.”

“Great.” James’ grin widened. “So what’s his d -“

“I’m leaving.” Albus cut him off, not wanting to know how that question was gonna end.

He knew that there was only so long that James could attempt to be civil and the beginning of that question signalled that that time had passed. Therefore, Albus needed to make his was immediately towards his own room before his brother managed to subject him to too much abject humiliation. He scrambled with the lock and exited the bathroom swiftly, making a beeline for his bedroom door as James made innuendos and snickered at the retreating figure.

He was hoping that he could distract himself with homework, or books, or anything to avoid thinking about his whole family’s lack of surprise and instant belief in what was, to him, an obvious lie.

{}

“Scorpius,” Draco lowered his newspaper and peered over the top at his son. “Relax, it’s fine they’ll be here any minute.”

Scorpius was perched on the couch opposite his father, unable to still any part of his body as he fidgeted in his seat. Albus and his family were due to arrive at any moment and Scorpius was both anxious to see him and desperate to know what Albus’ reaction was going to be. He hoped he wasn’t mad but he had no way of gaging the reaction since his last note, the one bearing the news of his lie, had remained unanswered and he’d refrained from explaining further knowing that he’d be seeing him the next day at dinner. He’d been confident that this whole stupid debacle wouldn’t ruin their friendship but as the minutes ticked by and the Potter family’s arrival was inevitable Scorpius’ confidence grew less and less. Hence, the inability to sit normally. His legs were kicking the sofa and he alternated between rubbing his hands against his pant legs and twisting and untwisting them together in his lap.

A whoosh issued from the fireplace that suddenly deposited a dishevelled and coughing Albus on the floor of the Malfoy’s sitting room.

Scorpius stood up abruptly and immediately, almost knocking right into the coffee table.

“Albus.” He said, loudly in the quiet.

“Scorpius.” Albus scrambled to his feet, and they both just stood there, making no movement, just grinning stupidly at each other .

“Hello Albus.” Draco said, sounding amused. “It’s nice to see you, but you may wish to move before the rest of your family comes through the Floo network.”

Albus looked completely confused, as if he hadn’t even noticed that anyone else was in the room, and it was all Draco could do to resist letting out a little chuckle at the boy’s face.

“Oh, right. Sorry Mr Malfoy.” He awkwardly shuffled out of the way until he was stood right next to his best friend.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Are you okay?” Scorpius asked, anxious for an answer to quiet the worries in his head.

“Yeah, I-“

The fireplace lit up green again, interrupting Albus’ answer, and out tumbled Ginny Potter.

Draco shook his paper and folded it neatly, placing it the side of him, and rising to properly meet his guests. He had managed to shake much of his childhood upbringing but the politeness in societal commitments had remained unshakeable.

“Draco,” Ginny was smiling. “Thank you for having us round.”

“My pleasure.” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Harry stumbled from the fire place at that exact moment.

“Oy Malfoy, hands off my wife.” Harry said, as he inelegantly rose to his feet, but he was grinning.

“Sorry Potter,” Draco uttered dryly, smirking in a friendly manner and stepping away from Ginny as she rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “I can’t help if your wife has good taste.”

“Too weird.” Albus whispered to Scorpius, who snorted and nodded in agreement.

The two men shook hands.

“Really though Draco, we appreciate the invitation.” Harry said, sincerely.

“Your house is beautiful.” Ginny remarked, as she looked around the room. “It really is a novelty to be able to actually see your floor rather than piles and piles of clothing.”

“That is entirely the work of our house elves. And well, the house has changed rather a lot since my childhood. It was all Astoria, she had an eye for bringing the light into the darkest rooms.”

Scorpius remembered what his father had said, or the version of his father that existed in that timeline, about his mother lightening the murkiness of the Malfoys and he let a soft smile grace his face. It was really true in so many ways.

“I can see that.” Ginny said softly, placing a hand on his arm in a motherly gesture.

“Dad,” Scorpius interrupted the adults, and everyone turned to face.

“Hello Scorpius, how are you?” Harry smiled brightly.

“Great! Thanks, Mr Potter. I hope everything is- is- fine.” The unsaid question about their approval hung in the air.

“It’s great Scorpius, really.” Ginny said gently.

“Thanks.” Scorpius was smiling again. “So Dad, can I give Albus a tour of the house before dinner?”

Every single person in the room were well aware that it was simply an excuse for the two to be alone, but the children had very different intentions than the parents expected. Namely, to figure this lie they found themselves entangled in.

“I suppose so. I guess we do have a few things to discuss, and we could talk over some drinks?” He addressed the last part to Harry and Ginny.

“Sounds good.” Harry nodded.

“Have fun boys.” Ginny smiled, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes as she gave them a little wave. “Be safe.”

 

{}

Scorpius grabbed Albus by the wrist and was dragging him from room to opulent room in such a haste to get the task over with that he very nearly tripped over his own feet.

“So this is the backroom, and through there is a kitchen, and then another bathroom and then let’s go upstairs.”

Albus was just blinking and letting himself be pulled around.

“And there, here.” Scorpius stopped on the first floor landing. “My room.”

He dropped his grip on Albus to scramble with the doorknob and let them both into the bedroom. Albus took a second to just take in his surroundings, positioned in the threshold of the room, to see if it revealed anything new about his friend that he’d never been aware of.  The walls were painted a a forest green, softer and more muted than the Slytherin dorms but similar enough to be comforting, and two large bookshelves obscured the wall opposite the door. Albus noted that stacks of books were piled up haphazardly around the room and he found himself wondering if there was some form of order or whether or not he just discarded them as he read them.

He was startled by the sound of Scorpius shutting the door behind them.

“I like your room.” Albus said honestly.

“Thanks. Me too.”

“So.” Albus said, feeling at a loss for words now that there were suddenly alone and required to discuss the situation.

“So.” Scorpius said. “Sit?”

“Right.” Albus said, moving to sit cross legged on the nearest available surface: the bed.

Scorpius sat opposite him, his crossed legs a mirror image, and they both paused a moment just looking at each other.

“Sorry.” Scorpius began. “I’m not really sure- I guess. Well- Okay. I know I shouldn’t have told my dad that we’re dating. I’m sorry. He was talking about the reunion- the Malfoy reunion- and how if you were boyfriend you could be there. And I was thinking about seeing you and the notes and the symbols. You know me- you know that I don’t do well when I’m uncomfortable. I thought I’d gotten better but it was like – well it was like that time that Rose said her favourite food was salmon and so I ate that big piece of salmon in front of her and then just vomited it all back up. Just vomited everywhere. But it was like I couldn’t stop myself, lying or vomiting. It was exactly like that. With the words, I didn’t vomit, but like metaphorical word vomit. I just told him. It happened and then it ran away with me and now – I don’t know. I hope you remember that month when we weren’t allowed to speak and how miserable we were and that maybe stops you from telling me you hate me and we can never be friends again.”

“Scorpius, don’t-“ Albus said. “Don’t. I wasn’t exactly jumping for joy when we were separated remember? This isn’t gonna end our friendship or anything.”

“Oh. Good.” He grinned all of a sudden.

“It was-“ Albus tried. “Well, I’m not gonna lie I was- that letter surprised me. Like a lot. Scorp, I thought it was a joke and then it wasn’t and now my whole family think I’m gay and I don’t care about that but it was just weird, the whole thing-“

“Sorry.” Scorpius repeated, wincing.

“But, it makes sense. The lie. Well, I mean it doesn’t really Scorpius no offence it was a dumb thing to say. But now it’s happened. If our parents say yes, then now we can spend the summer together and figure out these notes and hang out and stuff.”

“So, you’re willing to go along with it?” Scorpius asked, failing to disguise his eagerness.

Albus sighed: images of him and Scorpius fake dating rushing through his mind, them kissing, them holding hands, the reactions of their family, of his extended relatives at the dumb gathering, of Albus’ cousins finding out and being smug, mocking, or way too understanding. But then he looked into real-Scorpius’ eyes and his hopeful smile and he thought about escaping his family for some time with his best friend, and the mysteries they had to solve, and he nodded.

“I cannot believe I’m letting you talk me into this. But yes. Let’s do it.” He sighed.

“I think before you disparage my plan _ma_ y _be_ you should cast your mind back to the last plan you came up with which involved me nearly getting slashed by the trolley lady, accidentally creating a world where you didn’t exist, and nearly dying like 40,000 times.”

“Never gonna let that go are you…” Albus laughed.

“Well it took me weeks to get the taste of fish out of my mouth after that Polyjuice potion.”

{}

As the boys were struggling to figure out an appropriate plan of action, the adults were struggling with a similar dilemma.

“So our children are dating.” Ginny cut straight to the point over her glass of fire whiskey.

“Apparently.” Draco uttered dryly.

“I would _love_ to go back in time to tell our childhood selves just to see how they’d react.”

“Time travelling jokes? Isn’t that a little soon Ginny?” Harry joked, and she simply snorted in response.

“So, we all agree? We’re all okay with this.” Draco asked.

“Of course.” Harry answered quickly.

“Forgive me for being a little worried. I seem to remember my son sobbing because he couldn’t see your son, and apparently they were only friends at that point.”

“Sorry,” Harry winced. “I guess we should’ve seen then what was coming.”

All three nodded into their drinks, sitting a moment in contemplative silence.

“Scorpius wants Albus to come with us next week.” Draco finally began. “It’s to a family reunion, our extended relatives will be there to gather and catch up. It’s a tradition that goes back a long way. I know that considering my family’s- unfortunate history, you may be worried but I assure you that these are the relatives without dark sympathies. They will pose no threat to your son.”

“We know Draco.” Harry nodded.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we trust you.” Ginny added, to which he smiled gratefully.

“Thank you. I can guarantee his safety, but I cannot guarantee that their relationship might not face some scrutiny. The fact is, they’re boys, they’re a Potter and a Malfoy, they will attract some attention. However Scorpius seems aware of this and by proxy so does Albus. So, what I’m saying, is – with your permission- I would love for Albus to keep him company.”

“Make sure you put them in separate rooms, and you’re on Malfoy.” Harry agreed.

{}

“We need a plan. A proper plan type plan. Not just lets-wander-into-uncertain-territory-recklessly, which is our normal way. Because, well -I mean maybe in an alternate reality I had a little bit of a thing going on with Polly Chapman-“

Albus snorted.

“BUT-“ Scorpius continued. “That was the ‘Scorpion King’ not me. The closest I’ve got to kissing someone was when I tried to hug Rose and she kicked me in the shin.  Which I still say was progress but not exactly the height of romance.”

“Delphi kissed my cheek.” Albus offered.

“I know I watched, but somehow I don’t think that quite counts as your first kiss.”

“Yeah,” He shifted uncomfortably. “Maybe not.”

“So what I’m saying is neither of us have much experience with this kind of thing. The dating thing.”

“We aren’t actually dating Scorp.” Albus reminded him, willing a blush to not emerge on his cheeks.

“No. No. But we need to be convincing.” Scorpius insisted. “As much as I love the research and the books, it seems like this kind of a task requires a bit more practical research.”

“Are you- Scorpius Malfoy- actually saying that reading books at the library is not enough?” Albus mocked.

“Hey!” Scorpius protested. “I’m willing to admit that for some tasks a little hands on research is better, like saving the world and fake dating.”

“Sooo what you’re saying is…”

“What I’m saying is…“ Scorpius repeated. “I think we should kiss.”

The two boys sat in silence for a moment, the last words weighing heavy in the air.

“Or not.” Scorpius offered. “Whatever. You’re my best friend Albus. I just thought that it might make things easier. I trust you. Then we won’t be caught off guard. I’m not used to the physical stuff, I never really have been. Not hugging. Or holding hands. I don’t know. I thought that maybe- if we tried in private I wouldn’t get all weird. Before we have to go public. Fake public.”

“No.” Albus said quickly, not knowing what he was going to say until it came out. “I mean- You’re my best friend too Scorpius and I guess this wasn’t what I imagined it would be like- But I think that we should. We do stuff together don’t we?”

“Traveling through time? Check. Drinking Polyjuice potion? Check. Nearly dying?”

“Check.” Albus answered for him.

“First kiss?” Scorpius responded.

“Right- Makes sense. Okay.”

“Right.” Scorpius repeated.

Scorpius paused for a second, and then moved forward to press his lips gently to his best friend’s. Albus wasn’t sure what he was meant to do. His eyes were open and he saw the swoosh of Scorpius’ eyelashes as he leant in and their lips touched. They were both stiff for a second and then Albus relaxed against the pressure and they began to kiss in earnest. It was strange. Albus had been unwillingly picturing this very moment since Scorpius’ letter had arrived and it was all at once exactly as he’d imagined and completely different. They were young and nervous and this was their first time so the kiss was chaste and sweet. It was almost comforting in a way. Albus followed his instincts and moved the hand that had been resting on the bed to tentatively rest in Scorpius’ hair.  It felt nice for Albus and Scorpius appeared to agree as he leaned forward even more. He was forced to adjust his position cross legged on the bed and as he moved he placed his hand on Albus’ thigh for security.

Albus wasn’t aware that a palm could radiate so much heat, but Scorpius’ hand was practically burning a hole through his pants. All of a sudden, the panic and confusion that had filled him when he’d originally imagined them in this position came rushing back. The room felt stifling and warm. His hand felt heavy and the pressure of another boy’s lips against his own became too intense.

He pulled back.

“I- Sorry.” Albus coughed out, retracting his hand from his best friend’s hair as quickly as possible. “Sorry.”

“No. You’re sorry- I mean I’m sorry. Sorry.” Scorpius said, smiling awkwardly.

Albus was very very aware of where Scorpius’ hand still rested against his upper thigh. He was completely unable to concentrate on anything else.

“Right.”

“So that was-“ Scorpius paused, leaning back and finally removing his hand from Albus who wasn’t sure if he was relieved or suddenly disappointed. “That was- odd.”

“Oh - Right. Yeah.”

“But not bad odd. Like a good odd. Odd. Good things are odd sometimes- like frogs. Or us. People think we’re odd and we’re good.”

“It’s okay Scorpius.” Albus said, attempting to process the whole situation. “It was odd- and nice, and new.”

“Yeah.” Scorpius sounded relieved “New.”

Albus had the bizarre urge to close the distance that had grown between them and kiss his best friend again, despite having broken the kiss himself. The feeling in the pit of his stomach was heavy and warm but he had no way of knowing if it was good or bad.

“Boys.” A knock on the door, Draco entered.

The two teenagers scrambled apart as quickly as they could manage – of course, arousing more suspicion than if they simply acted normally – and proceeded to smile falsely at no one in particular.

“I think you should probably come downstairs now.” Draco was avoiding looking in their eyes, feeling horribly unsure if he should scold them or just pretend he believed nothing had been happening.

As the boys made their way to dinner ahead of him, Draco reminded himself to give the birds-and-the-bees talk another go sometime soon now that its content was suddenly much more relevant.


	3. Trust Issues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco has a talk. The press has a field day. The Potters' have an unexpected visitor. And the boys arrive at the family reunion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again no one proof reads this but me so there's probably mistakes sorry if i notice I try to fix! My laptop broke so this is slightly later than expected but it's here. I love hearing your thoughts on it so keep it coming! I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Dinner was a fairly normal affair. Or as normal as dinner can be when it's between a couple, their former arch-enemy, and their gay-and-in-love children. But plans for the coming trip that Albus was to accompany them on were finalised and both the parents and the children managed to exchange many meaningful looks with one another. 

 But it was not the meal that was to stick in Scorpius' mind that day, though it was delicious, nor the company, though that was odd, but rather the talk his father decided to give as soon as the Potters had left.

 "Son, I want you to feel like you can talk to me about anything. And I thought we should discuss, well, when two people- two wizards as the case may be- like each other a lot.. and maybe feel that they- they want to be.. Intimate."

 Scorpius could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks and the blush stayed all evening.

 {}

**_A Potter in Love?_ **

**_The truth about the secret romance._ **

**_By Rita Skeeter._ **

_No one inspires more awe and wonder in the Wizarding community than our boy hero, the boy who lived himself, Harry James Potter. Just the mere mention of this celebrity can send the calmest Witch into a frenzied flurry of admiration. But has this swoon-worthy charm been passed onto his offspring?_

_The Potters are a notoriously private family, making one wonder what they may have to hide…., but this reporter has an exclusive insight into their lives. It seems that a young heartthrob lurks among us and has bagged the heart of the last living heir to the Malfoy name. That’s right dear readers: it appears that his middle child Albus Potter, named after Harry’s surrogate father and possible mad man Albus Dumbledore, is dating Scorpius Malfoy, borne from the ill-fated union between ex-Death Eater Draco Malfoy and his late wife Astoria Malfoy nee Greengrass._

_Whilst this reporter knows as well as anyone the desires and urges that can possess a child at such a young age, one has to wonder how Harry Potter has allowed such a dangerous connection to go on? It seems that he has not been reading my book- ‘The Dark Mark: The Last of the Dark Days’ available through owl order- carefully enough. Whilst he had refused to give credence to the rumours of the Malfoy child’s parentage in the past, foolishly some might argue after the reveal of Voldemort’s daughter and the existence of time turners were confirmed, one cannot help but wish he would guard his children more carefully._

_The unlikely partnership between these two children of childhood foes is sure to send shockwaves through our readership- but sources close to the pair are suggesting something more nefarious may be at work._

_One fellow student, who wishes to remain anonymous, questioned the motives of the Malfoy spawn: “That Scorpio is super smart, no one can beat him at anything, but he’s so socially inadequate. Has no friends. I can see him making a love potion and feeding it to that Potter kid because he’s so massively desperate for love. Merlin knows I would be being raised by that death eater folk.”_

_It seems that one Mr Potter ought to be getting a potions testing kit sometime soon, surely he must be anxious to know if his son has been poisoned and the perpetrator brought to justice._

_Although others are suggesting this odd relationship is borne from the poor example young Albus Potter has been set. His mother, Ginny Potter nee Weasley and sister of our hero’s friend and helper Ronald Weasley, has been known to cause a scandal in her time. One still remembers when we approached Mrs Potter about information on her wedding and she used some rather colourful language to attack us. And certainly the image of her prancing around in the shortest robes imaginable on her bachelorette party has been well circulated within the Potter fan base, particular those who were questioning our favourite saviour’s choice._

_An old schoolmate of these aging heroes described Mrs Potter as ‘promiscuous’ in her Hogwarts days and ‘desperate to sink her claws in Potter as soon as he showed any interest.” If this is the sort of message his mother is setting for dear Albus is it no wonder he fell under the charms of the first wizard who asked?_

_Alas, it seems regardless of how this pairing began- we will all be watching closely in the coming months to see just what exactly these two young boys have in store._

{}

“Bloody hell-“ Ginny threw down the paper in a huff.  “That Rita Skeeter- I’ll bloody well kill her. I can’t read any more of this crap, for Merlin’s sake you think she’d have learnt to leave us alone by now- and poor Al-“

“I know.” Harry said.

“And what am I? From this article you’d think I was your maid- I’m Albus’ mother. And you ‘charming’? Have they met you? I think I was the one with the actual boyfriends in school while you were off saving the world and being reckless.”

“Ah- Gin, you might want to read the rest of the article before you complain about that.”

She narrowed her eyes at him but picked up the article and proceeded to finish it, as soon as she reached the portion concerning her she let out a huge snort that, had she been there, Rita Skeeter would’ve termed entirely unladylike.

“Damn, she revealed my dastardly plot to sink my claws into you. Did it work?” Ginny asked, sarcastically.

“Like a charm.” He chuckled.

“Well- what sort of scandal do you feel like creating Harry?”

He looked at her, puzzled.

“Maybe I could fake a fourth pregnancy? Get the heat off Al.” She half-joked.

But a noise from across the room spared Harry a response.

If the Potters hadn't already been dealing with That Article, they may have managed to muster up more than mild surprise at the sight of Draco tumbling out of their fireplace. But as it were, they simply watched with an air of inevitability. 

 "You won't mind if I don't leave you alone with Harry Draco, only I remember what happened last time and I quite like the kitchen as it is." Ginny uttered dryly, plopping herself down on the nearest kitchen chair.

 "I presume you read the article then" Said Harry. 

 "Indeed we have. And forgive me if I don't find it quite as amusing, only my son's in tears because he's worried your son hates him and is about to tell him so. I swear he has attachment issues since that little stunt you pulled Potter."

 "Malfoy-" Harry sighed. "You can't blame me for your son being.. emotional" 

 "Well if you-" Draco raised his voice.

 "Boys please." Ginny interrupted. "Stop behaving like idiots for 5 seconds if that's not too difficult? Obviously Scorpius is upset. Obviously Harry was a twat last year..."

 She gave him a look as if to dare him to contradict her, he only shrugged in agreement.

 "I think given our children's relationship that we ought to try work together on things like this. Now Albus hasn't even-"

 "Albus hasn't what?" A voice came from the doorway, interrupting Ginny.

 The adults all turned around to see Albus Potter, pyjama clad and bleary eyed, stood looking confused in the hallway. 

 "Dad? Mum? What's happening?" A tone of urgency was pushing the way the residual sleep still within him. "Mr Malfoy? What the- is it Scorpius? Is he okay?"

 "You might as well read it yourself." Ginny tossed him the paper, all appearance of nonchalance but with a quiet rage burning within her. She paused for a second. "I'm really sorry Albus." 

 He gave her a look of worry mixed with trepidation but he picked up the paper and began to read. Everyone else in the room could read the emotions on his face as soon as it began- his face turning a sickly green, a pale pink, and, finally, an angry red.

 This lie had grown larger than him already. He was humiliated and furious and scared all at the same time. He'd hadn’t really thought about their little fantasy travelling any further than their families, naively as it now appeared, and to be faced with their own lie peppered with the lies of another in black print felt almost like a death sentence. School was unbearable for most of the time but it had been improving. He saw those tiny improvements circling down the drain all because of damn Rita Skeeter.

 He didn't even want to be popular he just wanted to survive.

 "They can't do this!" He spluttered. "Print lies like this can they?"

 "I'm sorry son-" Harry tried. 

 "You can't do anything?" Albus demanded.

 Harry shook his head regretfully.

  "What's the point of having you as my dad if you can't even do anything? All it ever gets me is nightmares." He tossed the paper towards his father.

 "So Scorpius read it then?" Albus directed this question to Draco, who had been watching the scene unfold feeling vaguely uncomfortable.

 "He did." Draco confirmed. "He's a little upset- he thinks that you might be mad at him." 

"Unless he called the Daily Prophet himself I'm not." 

 "That's good to hear, but you may have to tell him yourself"

 "Right. Right." He muttered distractedly. He knew what Scorpius was like- how he could work himself up into a panic, reach breaking point, and twist himself up inside when he was upset. "I'll floo over now then shall I?" 

 Without waiting for a response, Albus marched over to the fireplace, tossed a handful of green powder in the flame, and cried out for Malfoy Manor.

 "Well." Ginny remarked in the silence. "I don't think they're about to break up anytime soon." 

 {}

Albus found himself stumbling into the Malfoy home for the second time in two days but rather than the company he’d been greeted with at his first visit, the room was empty save from a rather startled house elf.

“Oh- hi, you must be Sookie?” Albus asked, as he scrambled to his feet brushing the ash off his pyjama bottoms.

“Yes.” The elf was beaming and nodding. “You are Scorpius’ Albus?”

“Yeah- how did you know?” He asked, as if any other teenage boy would’ve been emerging from their fireplace in such a rush.

“The pictures.” The elf blinked. “So you’ll be seeing Master Scorpius sir? He’s in his room if you-“

“Don’t worry.  I know the way.” He was already off, making a beeline for the exit but he paused and turned at the last minute. “But thanks a lot Sookie.”

The elf looked positively ecstatic at this and gave a nod so enthusiastic that Albus was vaguely worried her head was about to fall off.

As he charged up the hallway and reached the bedroom door he felt a weird sense of trepidation about what he was about to find. He had seen Scorpius upset, after tests or rejection or bullying, but the only time he’d been the cause of it it he'd found anger.

Scorpius had been right to be angry with him. And all the things he’d said had been true. But they were also not things that Albus particularly wanted to hear again.

“Scorp?” He knocked softly on the door, before pushing it open.

Scorpius was perched with his back against his headboard and his knees pulled all the way up into his chest. He looked like he had been someplace else entirely until the sound of his name being called and the door opening had startled him out of his revere.

“Albus?” He seemed confused, and looked away quickly as he tried, and failed, to discreetly scrub at his eyes.

“Hey.” He made his way towards the bed, Scorpius budged up allowing just enough space for Albus to perch himself next to him so they sat shoulder to shoulder. “Your Dad came by.”

“So you read it then?” Scorpius was refusing to make eye contact.

“Yeah I-“

“You read all about your own love life splashed across the paper because I couldn’t even stop myself from lying to my dad because I wanted to have an adventure with you. I wanted more time with Harry Potter’s son- my best friend- and I got his life all across the media. We’re losers and now the whole world knows all about it.”

“The whole world knew we were losers already.” Albus nudged him with his shoulder. “Scorpius I know I have a bit of a complex- well we both have some father-son issues you know that- but I’ve got to get over it. My dad’s famous. I’ve been in the newspapers before.”

“But now they all think you’re dating a Malfoy.” He muttered bitterly. “And they wondering how you can stand it- they suggested I used a love potion. How could anyone actually stand to be with a Malfoy? They said the same about Mum and Dad at first-“

“And they were wrong.” Albus said simply.

“But they’re right about this.” Scorpius insisted. “This is all fake and it was my stupid idea and now I’m the one dragging you down.”

“You know that’s not true.” Albus interrupted. “I don’t care what they’re saying – whatever they think of you or us- they don’t – they don’t know you and they don’t know us. We’re better together Scorpius. And I don’t care that everyone knows. We’ll just go back to school and tell everyone we decided we were better off friends. Or pretend the media got it all wrong in the first place, Merlin knows it wouldn’t be the first time the Daily Prophet printed something that wasn’t true.”

“I’m the son of Voldemort.” Scorpius said, in a mock spooky voice.

“Exactly.” Albus placed his hand on the bed, and slowly, slowly, inched it till it covered Scorpius’. “They can say whatever they want- we’re still us. We’re still friends.”

“Always.” Scorpius replied, as he finally looked his friend in the eyes and smiled.

{}

The original shock of the article had worn off and left the adults with a difficult question to ponder: who had leaked the news to the press?

It didn’t particular matter who had given Rita the quotes, it was typically people who disliked the Potters and took any opportunity to smear them, but the fact was that no one outside of the immediate family was meant to know about the relationship.

“Me and Scorpius were meant to floo to Blishwick Manor tonight and prepare our relatives for Albus’ arrival the next day. They knew Scorpius was bringing a boy but not who it was. I’ve certainly told no one.”

“Lily-“ Harry looked at his wife.

“Or James.” She sighed. “Merlin knows he can gossip like an old woman when he wants to.”

“I think I should check on the boys.” Draco excused himself, feeling uncomfortable now his reason for the visit had already vacated to his own home.

“Right.” Harry nodded. “We’ll collect Albus in a bit.”

The two man nodded to each other before Draco stepped into the fireplace and disappeared within the green flames.

As he approached his son’s door he was relieved to hear the sound of laughter issuing from the door and paused to allow himself a smile. It was always nice to hear laughter in Malfoy Manor. So different from his own childhood in this home.

“Boys.” Draco knocked on the door, and opened it to find his son in much higher spirits. The contrast, between his son before Albus’ visit and after, was probably what was responsible for the plan he began to formulate. “It’s good to see you in better spirits Scorpius.

“Thanks Dad.” He ducked his head a little.

“I was just thinking. Why doesn’t Albus just come with us this evening? Our relatives know about it now I presume. There’s no need to wait and have him come alone. If we all arrive late tonight we can avoid the questions till breakfast tomorrow.”

Scorpius immediately turned to look at his best friend, who appeared similarly enthusiastic at the prospect, before turning back to his father and nodding.

“Thank you Mr Malfoy- I’ll ask my parents but I’m sure they’ll agree.” Albus said.

{}

Draco planned their arrival at the Blishwick ancestral home so as to avoid the most people as possible: and appeared to do it successfully. They had arrived to be greeted only by a legion of house elves who had led them and their belongings to their respective rooms. Draco had left them with some advice, that they ought to be ready for some tough scrutiny the next morning, before retiring to his own room.

It had been late and the boys had been reluctantly parted into their own, as promised, separate rooms situated across the hall from each other.

The bedroom was almost stiflingly dark, the heavy velvet curtains obscuring even the smallest hint of moonlight that may have managed to sneak in, and its unfamiliarity shocked Scorpius as woke with a gasp.

It was the first nightmare he’d had about the world without Albus – Voldemort’s world – for a while, and certainly since leaving Hogwarts. He panted in the darkness. Behind his eyelids the scenes played over and over like a perverse movie reel. The worst moment was never the torture, or the realisation that Voldemort was alive, or the confrontation with his father, but when he surfaced from the lake completely alone.

“Albus..” He croaked out, before remembering that he was not in the Slytherin Dormitory but rather in a strange relative’s house with his best friend/fake boyfriend asleep across the corridor.

He grappled with his thoughts for in the cold room for a while, but his heart rate would not return to normal. He knew, unfortunately from experience, that seeing Albus was normally the only thing to quiet his pulse. But he didn’t want to be that person. The needy guy, unwanted yet clinging, joking in the day about traumas that he was too weak to escape in the dark. He pretended he was Malfoy the Unanxious, but his inescapable nightmares said otherwise.

A few more minutes passed. He fought the urge to cross the corridor and just take a peek to verify Albus’ existence. The more time that passed the more difficult it became to resist. It seemed likely that he wouldn’t even notice that Scorpius had checked on him, and then he’d actually be able to some sleep.

A restless second later and Scorpius gave in. He slipped his legs of the side of the obnoxiously high bed and placed his feet gently on the floor, aware of the highly creaky floorboards that characterised old houses like Blishwick Manor.

The floor was icy beneath his feet and that, combined with the last dregs of his nightmare sweat, caused him to shiver in the draft. Still, he padded his way through the door and across the corridor undeterred.

He paused just outside the doorway that housed Albus’ temporary room. It was ridiculous. He was so well aware of his ridiculousness that he was blushing in anticipation. But what was the likelihood that anyone would know this happened? He would simply look and then shut the door and go straight back to bed.

The door squeaked as he twisted the knob and let a slither of light from the corridor infect the dark room.

The Albus shaped lump on the bed grumbled and turned, sitting up in the bed and propping himself up on one elbow. Normally Albus was a deep sleeper, many mornings of having to throw shoes or shout his name to wake him up had proven that, but in the strange room, under strange circumstances, with all these strange emotions swirling within him, he was having trouble adjusting. His sleep was light and disturbed and the creak and the light had all served to wake him.

Scorpius froze in the doorway. This had never happened before, and he was not sure exactly how to react.

“Scorpius?” Albus murmured, rubbing his eyes blearily as he turned to switch on the bedside lamp. “What’s the matter?”

“I- Well.” He stuttered.

“Scorpius, are you okay?” His voice sounded much more alert at the idea that his friend was in trouble. “Come in- shut the door, so we don’t wake up your relatives.”

Scorpius did as he was told, shutting the door behind him, and then perched himself on the end of the bed. He bounced a little, awkward in the silence and wondering whether or not he was about to tell him the truth. They didn’t keep things from each other. Not ever. But Scorpius was embarrassed, and unable to find the words he needed to explain.

“Scorpius,” Albus sat up fully, placing a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. “What’s wrong? Tell me. What’s happened? More notes? Your relatives?”

“No. No. It’s nothing.” He sighed, finally stopping his bouncing. “It’s just- sometimes I get nightmares. About stuff. And then- I just like to check that you’re still here.”

“So- the dreams, they’re- they’re about me?”

“Kind of.” Scorpius admitted, blowing at air and kicking the bed in one swift, awkward action. “About that place- the darkness- coming out of the lake without you with me. It helps when I know that you’re still here.”

He felt horribly vulnerable in the dim light and the silence.

“Merlin, I’m sorry. Scorp- I didn’t. The things you’ve seen. And I never even knew, never thought about what you had experienced. I never saw that world, I just-“

“Albus, you suck at apologies.” Scorpius joked. “Becoming just a _little_ all about you again.”

Albus smiled and then reached out to hug him. He pulled him close, fiercely tight, and Scorpius felt himself relax into his touch.

“You remember” Scorpius began. “That I said, once, that you didn’t make my life better?”

He could fell Albus nod against him.

“I don’t think that was quite right. I think that actually, you might improve it a lot.”

Albus wasn’t sure what to say or how to react. He felt incredibly moved and warm, cocooned in that moment with the one person he’d met since starting Hogwarts that had ever shown care for him.

“You know that you’ve improved mine.” Albus said, and he really, truly meant it.

They sat there, holding each other, for a few more minutes. There was nothing in the world quite like clinging to your best friend knowing that they need you just as you need them.

“I should go.” Scorpius pulled away, his voice so quiet it was almost inaudible. “I’m sorry I woke you up. But the hug- that was nice. I’m glad that’s something we do now.”

“No. Don’t. Not unless you want to. You can stay here for a bit, if it might help. I’ve been having trouble sleeping here too. I think it’s the darkness – the Slytherin Dormitory is never this dark- it’s not been a very peaceful night.”

“No.” Scorpius admitted. “It hasn’t.”

And then he nodded, a signal for Albus to budge across the giant bed leaving Scorpius plenty of room to position himself on the right hand side next to the lamp. It was weird, sort of but not really sharing a bed with Albus, and it occurred to him as he manoeuvred under the covers, that it was a first for their relationship.

It seemed like him and Albus were covering a lot of first times this summer.

“I don’t think I’ve ever shared a bed with anyone.” Scorpius said, thinking out loud. “I never had friends as a kid. No sleepovers or anything.”

“When we were little, James and I used to have these pretend sleepovers sometimes.” Albus was lying sunken into the pillows, staring up at the shadows on the ceiling. “We’d go in one of our rooms and get all our blankets and pillows and make a fort and then Dad would charm these lights to float in there with us and we’d play Gobstones and listen to music and stuff. James would always, always sneak in some Chocolate Frogs or Fizzing Whizbees when Mum wasn’t looking. Actually, I’m pretty sure Dad would give James the sweets himself when her back was turned.”

“And then James got older.” He sighed. “Then it became so much more fun to torture me. I didn’t mind at the start when he insisted on playing a few pranks- but eventually… I think the last time we did it he got some stuff from Uncle Ron’s shop, that stuff that makes the room go dark, and then when it wore off a chocolate frog exploded in my face. I cried. He laughed. We realised we had nothing in common and the nights ended.”

“That’s nice. At least you had them for a while. I had an imaginary friend but we ended badly.”

“James has always been an idiot- but as kids we had a few good times.” Albus admitted. “He tried to talk to me about us. Me and you. When my parents got that letter from your Dad. He wasn’t tactful but he was trying. Even when he couldn’t understand why I kept saying I’m not gay.”

“I am.” Scorpius said, closing his eyes and wondering if letting his thoughts out like that was the right choice. But this was Albus, they were meant to know everything about each other. “I think.”

“You’re what?” Albus asked, confused.

“Gay. Maybe.”

“But-“ Albus turned to his side to stare at his best friend who was resolutely refusing to make eye contact and was instead settling for examining the ceiling some more. “What about Rose? You asked her out? And kept waxing on about how amazing she was, and how big her hair was, and how great she looks in her Gryffindor Quidditch robes? The acorn of love and all that.”

“I like Rose a lot – although everyone always forgets I only actually asked her out twice. But I think I admire Rose more anything. I think she’s really smart and has great hair I do. But I don’t want to er- kiss her or anything. Not really. Not when I properly think about it. “

“Oh.” Said Albus, surprised by this reveal. “Right. Okay then.

“Is this-“ Scorpius sighed. “Is this gonna make things weird?”

“No. No, Scorpius. No.” Albus reassured, and finally his friend flicked his gazed to the other boy and gave him a grateful smile. “It doesn’t matter to me who you like.”

“Good. I didn’t think so. But still- Good.”

“You wanna turn the light off.” Albus asked after a second, his eyes heavy with sleep that finally appeared with the comfort of another boy’s body next to him.

“Oh. Right.” Scorpius leaned across to switch the lights off and plunged them both into the total darkness of the old room.

It was strange, being so close in the dark, and whilst they shared a dorm room during their time at Hogwarts they had never lay close enough for Scorpius to feel self-conscious about his breathing and his shifting beneath the covers. He wondered if it was time for him to leave and get into his own bed now that he knew that Albus was still there.

Somehow he could not bring himself to leave.

Scorpius was used to being so finely attuned to all things Albus Potter, four years as his only friend being perfect research, he could pinpoint the exact moment his friend’s breathing slowed down becoming the soft breaths of someone sleeping. He lay stiffly for a few minutes so unaccustomed to the weight and warmth of another body next to his.

He froze at a very Albus-y snuffle that emitted from the body next to him, but as he simply was shuffling closer to Scorpius he allowed himself to relax. He found he quite liked it, rather unexpectedly, the feeling of someone else sleeping comfortingly next to him.

Whenever he had the nightmares, the ones about the life he almost had, he could sleep when he knew that Albus was safely across from him- but those never went back to being peaceful, not truly. But there he could feel the warmth of the other boy’s body, sense him fidgeting in his dreams, and practically hear the beat of his heart. Every action pointing to irrefutable truth that Albus was here and alive and willing to lie with his best friend just because he wanted him to.

Scorpius knew he should go, should leave Albus to sleep peaceful and slip back into his cool, lonely covers. But his body wouldn’t respond, and he didn’t want to go, so he allowed himself to sink down into the warmth of the pillows.

He wasn’t sure but thought, just maybe, that as he drifted off to sleep he could feel Albus pulling him closer.    


	4. Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco makes a discovery and so do the boys. Relatives suck. Research doesn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. Yes this is later than normal, I'm sorry! From now on the updates will probably take longer because i'm moving and busy and stuff but I'm still loving it so dont worry I'll keep it up. Again, probably mistakes because I'm tired and terrible at proofreading stuff. Please comment and let me know what you think! I read them all and love them all and really appreciate so thank you. Hopefully you enjoy!

Blishwick Manor was not a place one would normally call homely or comforting. It was an ancestral home and as such represented the history of the noble family that had graced its hallowed halls throughout the years. The bedroom wallpaper was not soothing- it was a dark and imposing red pattern- but it had been picked out centuries before by Frederica Blishwick nee Malfoy, and thus it remained untouched. The furniture were antiques, the decorations relics, and the beds huge wooden slabs that thousands of important people had occupied.

So it made no sense for Scorpius to have had the most comfortable sleep of his entire life.

He was normally a fairly early riser, restless when forced to sleep for too long, but that morning he slept soundly until the sound of the door opening disturbed him.

Draco Malfoy was not happy. He had felt it sensible to wake up Scorpius in enough time for him to be prepared for breakfast, knowing the introduction of Albus to their family might be a little testing, but finding his son’s bed empty and knowing he often woke early he went to wake Albus up before looking for him.

And that’s when he stumbled upon his son.

Scorpius had his back to the door, his face resting on Albus’ pillow rather than his own, and as he blinked into consciousness he could sense Albus’ arm slung across him and feel the warm puff of his breath across his face. He propped himself up and as he turned to blink into the corridor light his cheeks turned bright red.

“Boys.” Draco said, in an eerily calm voice.

“Albus.” Scorpius hissed, the other boys arm had already fallen off him in the movement but he remained fast asleep. “Albus.”

Scorpius dug his elbow into his friend’s ribs but he simply grumbled and rolled away from him.

Draco was watching this torn between anger, worry, and faint amusement.

“Albus!” Scorpius finally screeched, kicking out with his legs and startling his best friend out of a rather pleasant dream.

“Wha- wha-“ Albus sat up quickly but groggy, and he froze when he caught the eye of Draco. “I- Mr Malfoy!”

“Morning. Would anyone care to explain what is going on here?”

“We just fell asleep.” Scorpius blurted out. “You know- the night-dreams-sleepy-hands-to-ourselves kind of sleep. I swear.”

“Oh Merlin.” Albus muttered, too tired to realise to he probably should’ve just shut up. “Mr Malfoy we are so sorry look- Scorpius-“

“I thought Scorpius that you understood after our talk.“ Scorpius pointedly looked anywhere but at the boy he shared a bed with, who just looked puzzled. “I appreciate what it’s like to be your age, but we have rules, I promised Harry-“

“I had a nightmare Dad okay?” Scorpius muttered, looking down and picking awkwardly at the bedspread. “About that other world- I just came to check Albus was still here and fell asleep. That’s all.”

“Scorpius- I didn’t. You still have them? Are they getting worse?” Draco’s anger melted away into concern. He’d known that Scorpius was a nightmare prone child, since Astoria’s death they’d become a fairly common occurrence, and he’d known his adventures in time had left him with some scars. Still, he prided himself on being different than his own father and so it was him and not the house elves that stayed up with his son when he woke screaming or crying or with a fever. He did not delegate fatherhood and never planned to. And as his child grew he knew there was less and less he would know about his son, this summer had proven that, and the gap he felt appearing between them shook him to his core. He had lost Astoria and now Scorpius was all he had.

“They’re getting better.” Scorpius was acutely aware that all the attention in the room was on him and he felt excruciatingly uncomfortable. “Honestly Dad- just a new place. Stressful times. That sort of stuff.”

Albus was resisting the urge to reach out and touch Scorpius, just to reassure him and let him know he was there, but with Draco still in the room and he wasn’t so sure it would be received so well. As a member of a huge extended family Albus was used to being tactile but with Scorpius he was never sure how he’d react. Sometimes he resisted the urge to ruffle his hair or grab his hand and sometimes he just leant into his instincts. Scorpius had grown up loved but isolate and unsure on how to receive affection from Albus but he’d began to relax. The stiffness had turned into relaxation and eventually Scorpius began to initiate contact himself. After all, it had been him to hug him, stroke his cheek, kiss him, and snuggle into him while they slept.

Albus shook this train of thoughts from his head: not an appropriate thread to follow with an angry father in the room.

“Scorpius-“ Draco continued, struggling with the appropriate response. He tried his best, but it was times like this he just wished Astoria was there to guide him. “I hope you know- I’m always here no matter what. And I understand why you came to see Albus, you help each other I see that, and I believe you just accidentally fell asleep. But while he is in the house I am responsible for him and I made promises to the Potters. Albus, I won’t be owling your parents but I hope this doesn’t happen again. I trust you two. Please do not make me regret it.”

Albus liked Mr Malfoy and kinda-sort-of saw how that was mutual, but at that moment he was reminded about all the stories he’d overhead about Draco’s dark past and gulped.

Was this what it was like to be someone’s boyfriend? Albus wasn’t sure he liked it.

{}

Draco let them be, venturing down to breakfast hoping that he could field some of the questions that were sure to come and yet knowing that it would ultimately be fruitless, and the boys retired to their separate rooms to prepare themselves.

Albus attempted to comb his hair in the mirror but it lay in a mismatched, messy, and unintentional style no matter what he did with it. He cursed his genetics and wondered why James hadn’t inherited their father’s rather troublesome hair considering it probably suited his character more. He was nervous which turned him surly but he had to get himself together. He knew that Scorpius, despite them being his relatives, was probably much more nervous (as was his temperament) and that Albus would have to shove his combative nature aside to help him through it. He thought of that afternoon, which they’d already allocated to mystery solving in the library, and just prayed they would make it through long enough to reach it.

Albus took one last deep breath and took a decisive few steps out of his room and across the corridor to Scorpius’ door. But before he could knock, as if he sensed his presence, Scorpius flung open the door.

Albus took a little step back in surprise, Scorpius smiled sheepishly as he stepped into the hallway and shut the door behind him. The door was heavy and old, made of thick wood, and the sound of it shutting reverberated in the silence.

“You ready?” Albus asked.

Scorpius nodded and then hesitated.

“Look-“ He began. “To my family I’m odd..”

Albus tried to not blush as he thought back to the last time Scorpius had referred to something as odd.

“I’m the black sheep. The son of Voldemort.. Although obviously they don’t actually think that that’d be stupid but I’m- I’m a Malfoy. That’s sort of not a good thing anymore. But I’m also a loser. So, I don’t know what it’ll be like but-“

“Scorpius,” Albus interrupted. “I don’t care. It’s not like I’ve never been a loser before. It’ll be like Hogwarts only they’ll be politer.”

“Probably.” Scorpius sighed.

Albus followed his instincts and reached down to entwine his hand with the taller boy’s.

“Might as well.” He said as explanation, Scorpius was looking down at their hands as if they were foreign objects and not attached to him. “We’re meant to be dating and we might as well present a united front.”

“Right.” Scorpius relaxed into the other boy’s grip and even gave his hand a tentative squeeze. “This is going to be.. new.”

“C’mon mate, I thought after Moldy Voldy nothing could scare you?”

“Right. Except my relatives…” And then he paused thoughtfully. “And maybe Rose when she’s especially angry.”

“I’ll protect you. Don’t forget, I’m the son of the boy-who-lived.”

Scorpius cracked a grin and Albus felt it was time to gently tug him towards the exit and down to face the rest of the world.

{}

“Draco, we were just devastated to hear about your loss. Astoria was…. Well, what a special woman! Full of- life. And so beautiful.”

“Yes.” Draco cleared his throat, feeling distinctly uncomfortable.  “We received your condolence flowers Bonnie. Very thoughtful, thank you.”

He failed to mention that Bonnie and her family had never like Astoria, apparently there was some ancient rivalry with the Greengrass line, and had made that evident whenever they’d had to be in her vicinity. But Draco was so well trained for his aristocratic duties that he was unfailingly polite and his tone never wavered no matter how much he wanted to shout at her and tell his stupid distant cousin that her flowers were ugly and so was she.

Even if he’d wanted to tell her what he thought he had no chance as the huge wooden doors swung open. They revealed not the legions of house elves that had been scurrying around the table and servicing the various witches and wizards: but Scorpius Malfoy and his boyfriend Albus Potter.

As if a spell had been cast, which would’ve been possible considering the company present, all eyes turned to the two teenagers hovering in the doorway.

Scorpius stood up slightly taller, only serving to exaggerate their height difference, and squeezed his best friend’s hand. It seemed silly: but it genuinely hadn’t occurred to Albus that he had no real experience with gatherings like this. Oh, he had met with plenty of boring ministry officials, and politically important guests, and had dinner with posh Wizards desperate to curry favour with his father. But it wasn’t really the same thing. He hoped he could pass muster, or at least make it out of this alive.

“Scorpius, come. I saved you and Albus a seat.” Draco broke the silence that had filled the room, and gestured to the intricately carved chairs that sat beside him.

As soon as Draco uttered these words, the room filled with chatter again as everyone not-so-subtly followed the two boys as they made their way to their seats. It was an odd feeling to know everyone in the room is talking about you- but not one the boys were wholly unfamiliar with.

“Thanks Dad.” Scorpius said, dropping the other boy’s hand and taking the seat offered to him by his father. He knew that had Albus been a girl he would’ve been expected to pull out the seat for him but he wasn’t so sure what the etiquette was now he’d brought a boy along. Therefore he made a weird sort of reach for the chair and then decided against it, pulling his hands back like they’d been burned, making it look like he’d experienced some sort of freak spasm.

“Yes- Thanks Mr Malfoy.” Said Albus, as he smiled at the only familiar adult and took his place at Scorpius’ side.

“How polite.” The woman opposite Draco murmured, zeroing in on the boys and relishing the prime position her seat on the dining table provided her with. “And Scorpius, how lovely to see you again. You really have grown to be such a handsome young man. Just the image of your father. I suppose you remember me? Cousin Bonnie?”

“Ah yes- Hello Cousin Bonnie.” Scorpius tried to smile but he couldn’t quite meet her gaze. “How’ve you been?”

“Just wonderful darling, I suppose you saw I got married? This is my Husband Charles Buchanan.” She gestured to the rather pale and miserable looking moustachioed man that sat opposite Scorpius, who nodded quickly in a weird manly greeting. “But-“ She gasped as if she had only just noticed Albus presence at the table. “Who is this wonderfully handsome boy sat next to you?”

“This is Albus Potter. My boyfriend.”

“Hello.” Albus said, smiling uncomfortably.

“Potter?” She raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Albus found himself incredibly frustrated by this faux-surprise. He knew that everyone was well aware at the table that Scorpius had found himself a boyfriend and that it was the son of the Wizarding World’s hero. Everyone had known Albus’ name as soon as he was born. This was not arrogance, rather Albus loathed that it was true with the pressure it placed on him, but it was simple fact and it was exasperating to pretend he believed this woman’s charade of ignorance. Yet, he did it. He did it for Scorpius, holding back as much of his sarcasm and annoyance as he could possibly manage.

He kept his answers short, as a sort of preventative measure, wearing a smile that was almost as fake as her questioning look.

 “Yup. Son of Harry. That’s me.”

“How fascinating!” Bonnie cried out. “You must have some great insights into our saviour’s life then?”

Albus made a non-committal noise at the back of his throat and shrugged.

“Well- you snagged a good one here Scorpius. Handsome – I certainly see the resemblance with his father now. You make such a delightful couple.”

“Thank you.” Scorpius said politely, whilst Albus just gritted his teeth at the comparison to his dad.

“I can scarcely believe it!” Bonnie continued, either unaware or unconcerned that she was making both children very uncomfortable. “A Potter with a Malfoy! How I’d love to turn back time and tell James Potter all about his grandson- I’ve heard he was _such_ an opinionated fellow.”

Scorpius looked down at the mention of this, staring at his hands that lay twisting and untwisting in his lap, and Albus could not stand to see him like that.

“I’m proud to be with a Malfoy.” Albus said, in hindsight, probably a little too loudly. “Scorpius is the best person I know and I’m sure my Grandfather would’ve been able to see that not an ounce of badness exists in him.”

The table had gone quiet again, all pretence that all the guests hadn’t been eavesdropping was shattered, and the silence was heavy in Albus’ ear. But he looked to Scorpius and saw his hands were stilled, he looked taken aback, but it only took a second until a grateful smile was shot Albus’ way.

That made all the awkwardness worth it.

“Well,” Draco said. “would anyone mind passing me the jam?”

{}

It seemed that Albus had either been unaware or unwilling to acknowledge how much socialising the aristocratic tradition required. He knew that a family reunion would involve some periods of interaction considering that was kind of the point of the whole gathering, but he had assumed that he and Scorpius would’ve been able to escape some of it. Family reunions with the Potters normally involved everyone running crazy at the Burrow, James and Fred pranking someone, and a near-death-experience. Albus knew that that was definitely not what to expect with the Malfoy’s but he hadn’t quite realised how much he’d be talking to stiff old men and women, who looked at him like he was a particularly fascinating caged specimen, and having to pretend to be interested in their anecdotes about his father.

He’d gritted his teeth all through breakfast but he’d hoped that as soon as it was over he’d be able to escape with Scorpius to the library and he could forget about the questioning, the kissing, and the weird feelings inside him and instead focus on those notes he’d received. As breakfast came to an end Albus had jumped to his feet far too eagerly, only to be informed that there would be a short reception in the Sunroom.

Thus, he dutifully followed the stream of aristocrats into the brightly lit and overly-fancy room to deal with more scrutiny.

“How long have you two been together then?” A round, oddly frog-like woman was asking Albus, peering over her flute glass at the two boys.

“Two months.” Albus replied, counting down the minutes until they could retreat into relative safety.

“Oh, I could’ve sworn Scorpius said three?” The man by her side knitted his brows together.

“Oh.” Albus shot Scorpius a look who just shrugged.

They’d discussed the details of their ‘relationship’ with the purpose of avoiding this exact conflict. But it seemed that one of them had slipped up and forgotten what they’d decide upon.

“We kissed three months ago but he didn’t ask me out until a month later.” Scorpius lied, and Albus was impressed at how smooth he sounded. Sometimes Scorpius was the world’s most awkward dork and other times he was impressively deceptive but there was never any in-between. It was pure luck for lying-Scorpius to emerge at the right times. “There’s a bit of a conflict over when our real anniversary is.”

“I guess you can just celebrate both.” She offered, chortling at her own quip in a way that made the boys feel as if they had to join in.

“You won’t mind if I cut in here Kathy?” A tall, imposing woman gently touched the arm of the other woman, but her voice was sharp as steel and it was clear she was not really asking. “I haven’t met these lovebirds yet.”

The couple that had been hounding them seemed annoyed but left without any protests and the two boys were left alone with this odd looking woman. She was out of place only because she was fairly young, possibly mid-thirties, and had a fierce look. Her hair was blonde and short, standing out around her head like a cloud, and she towered above them, her eyes sharp and her face highly defined. Her features were vaguely reminiscent of a hawk and she was looking at them as if she was ready to pounce.

“Hello, you must be Albus. I’m Cecelia Osbert.” She was smiling and Albus wasn’t sure if this was a good or bad thing.  “And Scorpius, we haven’t met since you were a child. But I’m Cousin CeCe, in case your Father mentioned me, we’ve crossed paths at the Ministry occasionally.”

“Right CeCe, you work at…” Scorpius trailed off, allowing her to fill in the blanks.

“Oh Merlin no, my late-husband worked there. Far too boring for me, all that paperwork. Not to mention how dull most ministry officials are. Not a slight on your father Scorpius, or yours Albus I’ve heard he’s quite a man, but no it was never for me.”

“Oh, yeah- I wouldn’t want to work at the ministry either.” Albus said, shifting awkwardly on his feet.

“Anyway I won’t keep you long, I’ve just been dying to meet you and verify if you’re really as charming a couple as everyone is saying. But I do think this little morning gathering is nearly over.” Cecelia said, and Albus looked around to see people drifting from the room and his heart gave a little leap of joy. “But I just thought I’d introduce myself. I know from personal experience that this type of event is _tedious_ for a teenager. But I think it’s sweet you two found each other- you seem like you belong together. I’ll catch you two later.”

With a wave the strange woman left the two boys alone, for the first time since they’d woken, but strangely they could not seem to meet each other’s gaze.

{}

Albus had never been more thankful to see a library, and unlike Scorpius he was not always just ecstatic to be in close proximity to books, and as they entered to find it deserted he felt a huge wave of relief roll over him.

“Okay. Before you get all Scorpius on me and I lose you to a book- you need to take a look at these notes.”

“Hmm.” Scorpius replied distractedly, already examining the spines of the books in the nearest shelf.

“Scorpius- c’mon big mystery to be solved. You’re the nerdy research guy, you should know that you need to have all the information before you hit the books.”

“I love being nerdy research guy.” Scorpius grinned, but he obliged Albus’ wishes and took a seat at the table in the corner that his best friend was occupying.

Albus took the notes out of his pocket and slipped them across for Scorpius to examine. They sat in silence and Albus found his thoughts drifting as he examined his friend’s face. He always loved how Scorpius looked when he was thinking hard about something: the slight tightening of the brows, the little upturn of the lips, and the way his tongue would occasionally dart out to lick them. He examined them in a new light now he knew what was it had been like to kiss them and he felt a little guilty when Scorpius finally looked up, as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t.

“So-“ Albus said urgently, over compensating for his moment of confusing distraction.

“Super weird.” Scorpius nodded, but he sounded oddly happy. “Those markings… it’s like I recognise them but I don’t. If only I’d started Ancient Runes already I’d have a better chance of understanding them. You know I think they should make Runes compulsory when you look at magic so much of it is dependent on something so under examined in Wizarding education.”

“I know nothing about Runes.” Albus admitted. “They look all mathsy and complicated, I think maybe you should take the research on them, I’ll look through history and language books to see if I can find this name.”

“I love mathsy and complicated. I’m in.” Scorpius said, and then he paused thoughtfully. “But the messages… it’s getting a little… I have a horrible feeling that we’re about to go on another adventure Albus and whilst I did love some _limited_ mischief I’m wasn’t quite as taken with the terrible danger and abject fear side. It was okay. Once in a life time glad-i-can-say-i-faced-the-dark-lord-and-survived type of thing but definitely something I’d be fine with never doing again.”

“Me too. I’m not sure I inherited my dad’s hero-complex.” Scorpius wasn’t so sure but he stayed mute. “So I think we try to figure it out more today- get a better idea of what’s happening- and then we get your Dad alone and tell him.”

“Good plan. Great. Research and Safety. I love it.” And as if he’d been waiting for this moment since they’d entered the room, he was off searching the stacks for anything useful and beginning to pile them in their little corner.

{}

It only took ten minutes for Scorpius to build two piles of books he thought might be helpful, books on charms and runes for him and historic and news-related books for Albus, and they settled in to spend most of the morning buried in work.

Scorpius seemed to get invigorated by research normally, but even he was getting fatigued after hours of pawing through books on runes that he barely understood. After the third book, he paused and looked across at where Albus was scanning his pages looking half asleep.

He’d never thought he’d be able to do this. The idea of having a friend to read with, to solve things with, to do anything with, had seemed so unachievable to him as a child and yet something he wanted so desperately. Now, knowing he had it, he felt unbelievably overwhelmed with something like gratitude for the boy sat next to him.

“I’ve been thinking.” Scorpius broke the silence. “These adventures. I dreamed of having them- the mayhem, the mischief, the actual friends. But they’re not really like I imagined.”

“No?” Albus replied, startled by the sudden conversation and trying to sound nonchalant.

“No. First of all, they involve a lot more time sitting in the library than I thought. Yay, research! My geekiness coming in handy. But, you know, it turns out facing uncertain death is actually a tiny bit scary.”

“Definitely.”

“But also, made me realise what I was willing to sacrifice and what I couldn’t.”

Albus paused his skimming of the text for a second when he heard that. He supposed it was true, they’d been tested and they’d proven that they’d give up their lives to save others. But really whenever Albus thought about it, it had been Scorpius to teach him that. Scorpius racked in pain from the cruciatus curse but ready to die. Scorpius who’d told him what they must do. Often he overlooked how brave his friend had been because he was emotional and prone to anxiety. But he’d been braver than Albus. He was sure of it.

“I know. I learnt a lot.” Albus coughed out after a second.

 Right. But mainly- mainly it’s different coz I have you. I imagined what’d it’d be like swanning round Hogwarts with Harry Potter and getting into all sorts of trouble. But you- you’re real Al. You’re better- I just. Thanks. For all this.” He gestured to the piles of books and papers that surrounded him.

For once, Albus didn’t mind his nickname.

“You don’t need to thank me.” Albus said, refusing to look up from his book worried he would do something stupid like reach out and kiss his only friend. “We’re best friends.”

“I know. Still, it’s nice.” Scorpius said. “Especially when your best friend shares his Peppermint Imps with you…”

“You gave them to me!” Albus cried, but he tossed a few at Scorpius. “I should’ve known you were only after my sweets.”

“Sweets-“ Scorpius sang jokingly under his breath. “They always help you make friends.”

He was satisfied, and fortified, by the sweets and the talk and with one last glance at his friend he reached for the next volume with a grin on his face.

{}

They spent a while longer working in silence before their work was interrupted by the need to attend to the relatives at lunch times and entertain them with their charade of a relationship.

The worst thing about pretending to be in love with Scorpius was that they hardly had to change how they were around each other at all. Occasionally they would hold hands or let other people catch glimpses of them hugging or sharing a meaningful look. But ultimately in required almost no change in action or mind set. Whenever Albus thought about it too deeply, which he was doing anything not to do, he would blush furiously and feel distinctly uncomfortable. He couldn’t understand why it was so easy for them. It must’ve been because they were so close, they knew each other better than anyone else, that had to make lying together easier?

Albus was too scared to examine any other option.

Lunch was marginally better than breakfast, although there still seemed to pop up a variety of people who were desperate to get to know the oddest couple they’d ever seen, and the boys managed to make it through without accidentally screaming out their real opinions.

Maybe it had been because they knew the whole afternoon stretched out ahead of them with no familial obligations until dinner.

Hours came and went in that grand library but the two boys barely noticed, so caught up in their research and time together. Albus could occasionally feel their legs brush and something warm filled him whenever it happened and he almost had to stop himself from stretching his legs too often in case he became too obvious. Scorpius was smiling, reading with his best friend was quite possibly his favourite scenario, and all was peaceful and companionable.

And then- Albus stumbled on something.

He had been struggling, his eyes stinging with the amount of reading he was doing, and he had barely been paying attention to his book- ‘History’s Mysteries- Key Stories in Print’- but one word had caught his eye and made him sit up straight. The book was a collection of Daily Prophet articles from its early days that the author had thought were important to both Wizarding history and journalism and in one article, from 1912, he saw the words he’d been looking for.

“Scorpius.” He said, his voice thick with such meaning and excitement that Scorpius was immediately drawn away from his book. “I found them- Castitate et Tenebrae. They’re here.”

The name had appeared in an article titled “From Gideon Flatworthy to Perseus Parkinson- An Exploration of Anti-Muggle Extremism” but it scarcely filled a paragraph in the long, and horrific, history of this practice.

_Some cite the shadowy and mysterious group Castitate et Tenebrae as another example of this tradition in Pureblood Supremacy, the name deriving from the Latin for Purity and Darkness, but many reporters do not agree. Whilst this group has been widely rumoured to be responsible for the recent escape of notorious Muggle-murderer Donald Crabbe from Azkaban and the spate of Muggleborn torturings, this has yet to have been verified. Though some claim this group’s aim is to ‘provide liberty to those persecuted by Muggles and Muggleborns’ their very existence has not been confirmed and the identity of the members are unknown. Thus, we must turn our attention to…_

And the article continued without another mention of this elusive group. But it was enough.

“Wow.” Scorpius said, after he’d finished reading it. “Wow that’s-“

“I know.” Albus nodded solemnly.

“We found them. It’s something scary. But we found it.” Scorpius felt a smile playing at his lips, despite the horrific information that this passage had just revealed.

“We tell your Dad after dinner?” Albus said, noting that it was nearly time for them to leave for the dining hall.

“He can owl your Dad.” Scorpius replied. “It seems like it might be to do with Delphi, the breaking out of Azkaban…”

“Like they’re gonna help her escape.”

The two boys shared a look that made them shiver.

{}

Dinner time was formal, hectic, and lasted far too long.

So long, that the boys never had an opportunity to be alone with Draco to tell him what they’d discovered. Eventually, as the adults retired to drink fire whiskey and tell wildly inappropriate jokes, Draco found them in the corner of the room but only for enough time to tell them they could go to bed and to reinforce that he would be waking them up in the morning and that he expected to wake them separately.

They had blushed and nodded and Draco disappeared before they could say anything else. But they knew that the morning would provide enough time alone and they were satisfied that it was safe to wait until then.

They made their way to the rooms and at their doors here was an odd moment where it felt like they were balancing on either side of something big. Yet neither of them seemed quite ready to tip the scales, so they said goodnight and retreated.

However, as both boys crawled into bed with a thousand thoughts of that day swirling in their heads, they couldn’t help but miss the warmth they’d felt from another body sleeping peacefully next to their own.

 


	5. Tongue-Tied

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A discovery is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes this has taken me forever. I am sorry, I moved to another country and got very very busy. But here it is. Also, I'm sorry about any mistakes there may be as only I proof-read it and I dont do that very well. Also it's really late and i'm tired so there u go but i wanted to finally get it out. I just wanted to say thank you so much for everyone who reads this I truly appreciate it. I hope people are still into it and like the direction it's going? Please please comment and let me know because they seriously make my day. Okay thank you enjoy!
> 
> P.S. Hello! To everyone who has already read this and is wondering why it's updated, I've just added a little dialogue at the end because i reread it and it came across a little different than I meant. So now enjoy some healthy verbal consent :)

Draco stood outside the door to his son’s room and took a deep breath. He let out a silent prayer that this time he would actually find his son asleep, and alone, in his own bed. There had been an unsettling feeling sinking into him as he’d watched his son with Albus, it was the notion that his only child was growing up without him realising it, and he felt melancholic at the thought that in a few years he would be left alone in his empty, mansion. Yet, he’d never seen his son happier than when he looked at Albus and that was the only thing he really cared about anymore. Not the ministry, or politics, or family drama. Just ensuring Scorpius was as happy as he could be.

“Scorpius.” He called out, as he gave a brisk rap on the door and then pushed the door open.

“Hey! Sorry Dad.”

Draco let out a sigh of relief to see Scorpius sat, already fully dressed, on the edge of the bed shoving his feet sloppily into a pair of worn grey socks.

“Thank Merlin.” He muttered under his breath.

“Hmm?” Scorpius replied distractedly.

“Nothing.” Draco added quickly. “Did you sleep well?”

Scorpius froze for a second, refusing to look up from his socked foot and catch his father’s eye.

“Yeah- I- Not too bad- can’t complain! Ha. Ha.”

“Scorpius. Did you- you had another nightmare?” Draco furrowed his brow, he could protect his son as much as possible during the day but dreams and memories were off limits. He hated the thought that he suffered.

“No.” Scorpius shook his head, and finally turned to give his Dad a faint smile. “They’re not everyday just sometimes. I know Albus is across the hall. I won’t go to him again I promise. Yesterday-“

“Is forgotten.” Draco interrupted. “I trust you. Please don’t suffer by yourself if they wake you up- find me. Or even- even find Albus. Just return to your own beds and don’t- don’t betray mine or the Potter’s trust.”

“We don’t-“ Scorpius choked on the implications in his father’s words. “It’s not- ah. Like that.”

“Okay.” Draco let it go, to save himself an awkward conversation they’d already covered. “Well, I’ll let you wake up Albus. The earlier you get to breakfast the earlier you can leave so keep that in mind. I’ll save you a seat.”

“Wait.” Scorpius scrambled to his feet. “Me and Albus have to tell you something.”

“He’s not pregnant is he?” Draco couldn’t help himself.

“Dad! Just- one second.”

And then Scorpius was off, ducking under his dad’s arm and pounding harshly on the door opposite before bounding in.

“Albus! Albus! Albus!”

The lump on the bed groaned but otherwise remained lifeless.

Scorpius perched himself on the side of the bed leaning forward and placing his own face very close to Albus’.

“Albus!” He cried, and the dark haired boy jolted awake with a start.

“Scorpius! Wha- Jeez, we talked about this. One of these days you’re gonna kill me-“

“Well, maybe you should learn to wake up at a more reasonable time.” Scorpius sat back up, grinning.

“And maybe you shou-“ And then Albus noticed Draco stood in the doorway, watching them with a bemused expression, and he struggled to sit up straighter in bed although he wasn’t sure why. “Mr Malfoy- Hi.”

“Hello Albus. I hope you slept well?”

“Yeah great thanks.” He said, attempting to be polite when all he could think about was the morning previous. “And you?”

“Perfectly.” Draco replied. “I heard you have something to tell me?”

“What?” Albus said, still muddled by sleep.

“You know- The thing.” Scorpius widened his eyes in the least subtle facial expression Albus had ever laid his eyes on.

“Yeah.” He said, feeling rather confused that a minute ago he had been fast asleep and suddenly he was preparing to divulge some pretty serious information. He wished that Scorpius had given him some warning and that he had not been wearing his pyjamas. “We thought you should know that-“

And then his throat froze. It felt like someone had clenched their hands around his vocal cords and were holding on tight. He attempted to speak again but all that came out was a choked scrambling sound.

“Albus-“ Scorpius turned to look at him, puzzled.

“You tell him.” He said, and suddenly it felt normal to talk again.

“Okay.” Scorpius turned to look back at his Dad. “It’s that these weird-“

And then his throat closed too. The sensation identical to what Albus had felt, although he didn’t know that at the time, and no matter how much he tried to get his lips to form the words it was like he was temporarily out of control. His body was not his own and it was no longer responding to his commands.

“We’ll show you.” Albus said decisively, scrambling from bed to reach his dresser where the notes were kept stowed away inside an old potions text book. “Here.” He passed the parchment over to Draco, who had been watching them both with confusion.

Draco examined each piece carefully but it did not take long for him to look up.

“These sheets are blank. Did you give me the wrong thing?”

“What?” Scorpius cried out, as Albus hurriedly snatched the notes away to scrutinise himself.

It didn’t make any sense. To him, and Scorpius, the words were plain and bold and the symbols even more startling. There was no way Draco could missed them. And it dawned on them almost simultaneously that something seriously odd was going on. They exchanged a look and then Scorpius turned back to his father and let out a nervous, jittery, and entirely fake laugh.

“Got you! It was a prank. Just boys being boys and such! Not that girls can’t pull pranks because they definitely can. I remember when Albus’ cousin Roxy filled the Great Hall with Gryffindor red foam and they couldn’t spell it away. Now that was a prank. This prank was bad. We’ll definitely work on our prank skills and try again. Okay. So see you at breakfast Dad?”

“Are you sure-“

“We’re fine.” Albus cut off quickly. “I guess I just don’t take after my brother much.”

Draco sensed that something else was going on but he did not say anything. He saw the looks the two boys exchanged and presumed it was related to their relationship and he wanted to prove to them that he trusted and approved of their love. He was so aware of what it did to a child to crave approval that he never wanted Scorpius to feel that way, though he did in some regards, and his parenting was always in service to that desire.

He worried often that he backed away too much but simultaneously that he came on too strong. Astoria was no longer there to reassure him or counter his decisions and he felt adrift in this ocean of responsibility. Still, he had seen how Albus and Scorpius looked at each other and worked things out. He felt sure that he would be stepping on their toes to push it any further.

“Okay. I’ll see you at breakfast.” Draco smiled gently, and then he made his retreat, softly shutting the two boys in the room together.

{}

As soon as the door shut, the two boys turned urgently to each other.

“What in Merlin’s name was that?” Albus asked, plopping himself back down on the bed.

“I have no idea.” Said Scorpius, excitedly.

“Please don’t sound so happy about this.” Albus sighed.

“Oh, don’t worry I’m terrified too.” He said, as if that was somehow reassuring news.

“Try now. Try talk about the notes.”

“We found some really creepy notes from a group called Castitate et Tenebrae. Please help us so we don’t die a horrible painful death.”

“No struggle to get the words out?” Albus asked.

“Nope.” Scorpius bounced a little on the bed. “Last time it was like my body wouldn’t let me speak. Like I was-“

“Choking.” Albus finished for him, knowing exactly the feeling he was describing.

Scorpius nodded, grinning despite himself at the way Albus had been able to find the words for him.

“This is weird.” Albus sighed, looking heavenwards as if the answers to all his problems would exist there.

“Super weird.” Scorpius agreed, flopping backwards so he was sprawled flat on his back across the bed.

Albus’ eyes were distracted from their examination of the ceiling by the sudden motion and he looked down at his best friend. Scorpius gave a puff of breath and shut his eyes, and Albus was captivated by the brush of his pale eyelashes against his even paler cheeks. He’d never thought about eyelashes as beautiful before but suddenly he was struck by the elegance of Scorpius’s: they looked so soft against his skin he wanted to move so they were cheek to cheek and see if he could feel the soft swoosh of them himself.

He shook his mind free from those thoughts. He was confused enough about their own predicament to complicate things by obsessing over Scorpius eyelashes, of all things, and he needed to be focused. He couldn’t afford to think of things like that.

He wasn’t thinking of Scorpius all the time. Definitely not.

“This sort of thing needs to be tested.” Scorpius pointed out, sitting back up and looking expectantly at Albus.

“Hmm.” Albus averted his gaze hurriedly, afraid he’d been caught although caught at what he wasn’t sure.

“Let’s go to breakfast and try to slip it the whole notes-and-evil-society thing into conversation and if we can’t then we know it’s not just my Dad who we can’t tell. Maybe we can’t tell anyone.”

“Okay.” Albus said slowly. “Yeah- that sounds good. Possibly the only sensible plan we’ve ever came up with.”

“I think you’ll find I came up with.” Scorpius pointed out, sticking his tongue out at Albus who just gave a little huff. “But you’re right- it’s an excellent plan. Meet you in the corridor in ten minutes?”

Albus nodded.

{}

Breakfast was tiresome. It was only the second morning they’d endured at the Blishwick Manor reunion but it felt as if it was the fiftieth. Albus was almost certain he could predict exactly what everyone around him was going to ask before they did. His thoughts would flicker to the two Malfoys, Scorpius and Draco, and he wondered how they’d coped with it for all their lives.

He would sometimes complain about reunions at the Burrow. There was always so many of them: the Potters and the Weasleys and sometimes, especially towards the end of summer or at Christmas, the Longbottoms and Scamanders all crowding round one table. There was so much noise and personality all crammed into one small house that Albus often felt like he faded into the background: a nobody and a nothing within his own family.

But those were his insecurities. When he really thought about all the people that congregated at the Burrow every year, he thought about love. He thought about the warmth of his Grandma Weasley’s cooking and the look on her face as she gazed out across the family they had all made. There was no warmth to be found in the aristocracy, not the ones he was meeting, and it made his stomach drop to think Scorpius had never known love like the kind that filled the Burrow.

For a brief moment, as he gazed across the table at all the stuffy people that surrounded him, he fantasised about stealing Scorpius away and taking him to one of his own gatherings. He could almost see it, floating in his mind’s eye, and he was filled with a strange sense of rightness at the thought of it. His Grandma would love Scorpius. He hadn’t ever thought about that before but he as soon as the idea appeared he could just see with such certainty that it was right. She might even knit him a Weasley sweater. That thought spiralled off into what Scorpius might look like drowning in her always-too-big jumpers, the emerald green shade she would not doubt use that would light up his silvery hair, and he had to stop himself.

That was not a good direction for his mind to be heading in.

Scorpius caught his eye and gave him a peculiar look that was clearly meant to convey some greater meaning. For a brief second, Albus panicked thinking Scorpius had somehow managed to read his thoughts and was currently disgusted at their general content. But then he realised it was just his entirely unsubtle way of asking if it was time to start attempting to slip Castitate et Tenebrae into their conversations. Albus gave a little sigh of relief and tried to nod in a way that was not obvious to anyone else but that Scorpius would catch.

He failed in being subtle, but most people just smiled assuming it was some adorably romantic, private conversation.

“So-“ Scorpius said to the person next to him, a rather mousey looking middle-aged woman who smiled placidly at anything anyone said, and his voice suddenly rose unpredictably in volume as he attempted to be casual.

Scorpius Malfoy could do a lot of things: being casual just didn’t happen to be one of them.

“I WAS READING THIS REALLY FASCINATING ARTICLE THE OTHER DAY.”

Albus wanted to bury his head in his heads and, if he hadn’t known how impolite that might have appeared, he probably would’ve done it.

“Oh?” The woman replied, just happy that the most gossiped about person at the gathering was talking to her.

“YES IT WAS ABOUT THE C-“ His voice made a weird gurgling noise and then was cut off abruptly with a cough.

“Sorry- something in my throat.” He suddenly began to return to normal volume, sharing a quick widening of his eyes with Albus, and attempted to finish his sentence properly. “It was about c- c-cauldron bottoms.” He trailed of lamely.

“Well, that does sound fascinating. Though I admit that I don’t know much about it.” The older Witch said mildly.

Albus turned his attention away from Scorpius, who was trying to remember everything he’d ever read of cauldrons in order to appear plausible to his companion, and decided to make conversation with the squat man opposite him. It seemed a little redundant to try himself, seeing how it had failed when Scorpius had done it, but he knew that Scorpius wanted a proper test and so he obliged.

“I was writing about this group for a project at school. And I got this note.” So far so good, he thought, although the man he’d struck up conversation with seemed rather confused at this unprompted topic.

“Did you?” He asked, because he was raised properly and it was the polite thing to do.

“Yes.” He said decisively. “It said t-“

And then his voice constricted and he was coughing.

“Oh dear.” The witch, whom Scorpius had been boring half to death about cauldrons, interjected. “Are you okay son? You both seem to be coughing a bit, I hope you’re okay.”

 “I think we probably both caught a cold.” Scorpius said. “We spend so much time in close proximity- that must be it! Both have a cold!”

Albus coughed again: though this time it was less about the words he’d been trying to force out and more about the unsaid implications in Scorpius words.

He knew that that was not what Scorpius meant. However, he also knew what everyone else had just heard.

“Yes.” He said after his cough. “A cold.”

“Oh no-“ The woman furrowed her brow in a show of faux concern that did little to hide her glee that it was her who’d be privy to the last little titbit. “How terrible. I hope we don’t all catch it.”

“You’re right.” Scorpius said, shooting up so abruptly that the people closest to him jumped in surprise. “In fact I think we should probably leave breakfast now. We don’t want you all getting ill.”

“Oh you don’t hav-“

Scorpius continued on as if he hadn’t heard her.

“I mean look at Albus, he looks like he’s about to faint.”

Albus did indeed look like he was about to faint.

“Yes- let’s leave.” He said.

“See, he’s very ill.” Scorpius said, gesturing at his fake boyfriend. “We’ll see you at lunch. Probably.”

The woman was stuttering out a weak protest but Scorpius already had his hand clamped around the wrist of his best friend and was dragging him out of the dining hall. Albus was immensely thankful for Scorpius horribly awkward timing and manner.

He had longed to get out of there but he couldn’t have said it himself. Thank god, he would always have Scorpius to do it for him.

“Scorpius?” Draco said, watching faintly amused as the two boys scurried out of the room. “Are you okay?”

“We have a cold.” Albus offered up, shrugging at the eldest Malfoy as if to say: you know what he’s like.

Scorpius felt a little thrill go through him at that use of the plural: we. We. We. We. A team. An inseparable pair: even when it came down to false illness.

That was always the way it should be.

“Okay.” Draco gave his own shrug, he was well aware that was probably false but he wasn’t about to say so. If he had been Scorpius and Albus he wouldn’t have wanted to spend a second longer in that room than he had to, so he couldn’t blame them. “Get better soon.”

{}

They secluded themselves in Albus room in an attempt to make sense of whatever it was that was happening totem: however nonsensical it appeared.

“It happened again. I felt like I was choking and I couldn’t get the words out.” Albus said, voicing what they’d silently witnessed at the breakfast table.

“Right.” Scorpius nodded in agreement. “It’s like a curse or spell or something. It stops us talking about any of this with anyone but each other.”

“Yeah-“ Albus scrubbed at his eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted. 

“And when it’s written down, no one but us can read it?”

“It seems like that.”

“That means we can’t tell our parents. We just have to rely on each other?” Scorpius summed up, musing out loud everything that was careering around his brain.

“Basically, yes.” Albus sighed, flopping down onto his bed.

“Oh Dumbledore, might as well give up now then. We’ve had a nice run- you and I- it’s been great to have a friend and all. Maybe we can meet up on the other side and have another go of it?” Scorpius was all jittery, as he was often, and he made a little jagged movement as if he was heading for the door.

“Or we could do more research?”

“Oh. I do love research. I guess you’ve twisted my arm. Library?” He spun back round with a smile.

“How to distract Scorpius Malfoy from his own impending doom?” Albus joked.

“Bring me to a room full of books? Really Albus, your jokes are getting old by now.” Scorpius sniffed, affecting a mock offended air.

“Oy. I’m hilarious.” He grumbled, as he lifted himself off the bed in preparation for their departure to the nearest book filled room that (no matter what Scorpius said) was bound to leave his friend completely unreachable.

“Did your Dad tell you that? Because I happen to know he’s overcompensating for tearing us apart” He teased.

“Harsh.”

“Ooh I have a plan.” Scorpius’ eyes suddenly lit up, and he stopped his exit through the door with such suddenness that Albus nearly crashed right into him.

“Little warning about when you’re gonna do that Scorpius.” Albus huffed, he’d nearly stumbled backwards over his own feet.

Scorpius ignored his complaints.

 “We go to Aunt Josephine’s private library!” He said, shifting back and forth on his feet with such excitement now his plan was formulating in his head. “That has loads of rare books, and dangerous books, and dark books. Mum used to tell me about it.”

“You Malfoy’s have weird bedtime stories…”

Albus was, once again, ignored.

“I bet we could find more information in there, if these runes really are dark, ancient magic like it seems . It’s this way, second floor on this wing. Because you know the symbols remind me of ancient Egyptian magic I read about last summer and I’m sure she has stuff on that. Honestly we Wizards should take more notice of the Egyptians- their work in runes was revolutionary and way ahead of European work at the time.”

“Okay then. Let’s go.” Albus said, and dutifully followed as Scorpius careered through the corridors in the house.

“That’s why I would love to go to Egypt. But then again so many other Wizarding societies have such complex ideas about runes and their uses. It’s such a shame that Gringotts mainly sends Curse-Breakers to Egypt because it’s ignoring the Middle East and Asia. There’s less money to be made their but their rune work is _fascinating._ ”

“Hmm.” Albus hummed, half listening and half watching Scorpius as he animatedly led them up the stairs and through some previously unexplored passageways.

“We’re nearly here, just up these stairs.” Scorpius said. “And then there’s the Maya-“ His voice was cut off as the emerged in the corridor to hear the sound of voices.  

“Uh Oh.” Scorpius stopped abruptly, looking anxiously at Albus who lagged behind. “There’s people coming.”

The hallway the boy’s found themselves in was an odd one. They entered up a set of stairways directly behind them and in front of them loomed gigantic wooden doors that seemed to be the access point to the famous library. And where they presently stood there was no wall to the left as the passageway simply opened up into a large expensively furnish room. And, from the sounds issuing from the door across from them, it was about to be invaded with hordes of Malfoy relatives.

“Oh Merlin-“ Albus grumbled. “They’re going to want to talk all about my famous Dad and tell us just how cute we are.”

“Ah- no. Actually, I might not have mentioned that the library is just a teeny bit a forbidden zone that I’m not meant to go in and we’ll be in serious trouble if they catch us?”

“Scorpius. You’ve got to be kidding.”

Scorpius made an oops-face that let Albus know he was definitely not kidding.

“Right. I guess it’s back the way we came.” Albus sighed.

But as both boy’s turned around they noticed the same thing simultaneously: the corridor that they had entered through no longer existed. Now, Albus was used to Hogwarts with its roving staircases and secret passageways but he was familiar with them in a way he was certainly not in Blishwick Manor. Albus grew up in homes where it was not normal for a door to simply vanish after you’d walked through it.

“Er Scorpius, care to explain what’s happened to our escape plan?”

Where the staircase had been there was now only a blank wall.

“Ah. I suspect it might be just a tinsy bit of protective magic.” Scorpius offered. “I did hear stories about Aunt Josephine being a little paranoid. Although, actually, maybe not that paranoid considering we are about to break into her precious collection.”

“To the library then?”

Scorpius nodded, but as they spoon back around they saw that the heavy oak doors had vanished too leaving behind nothing but solid wall.

The two boys looked at each other and then looked around, noting how entirely exposed they were. There was no doubt that as soon as the adults entered the room they would spot the two teenagers.

“How much trouble will we be in?” Albus asked, eyeing the door as the sound of voices grew louder.

“Lots. Like less than changing our entire universe through time travel but more than that time I accidently spilt that potion all over Rose and got detention for a month.”

Albus turned around, grimacing, and suddenly he felt hot and jittery all over. He wasn’t thinking straight. His mind was racing ahead of him and the plan that popped into his head was suddenly the only thing he could think of.

“Do you trust me?” He said quickly.

“Always.” He nodded firmly, looking politely puzzled and expectant.

Before he could second guess his next move or the unwanted emotions they might elicit within in, he surged forwards. Scorpius stepped back confused and presuming he was in the way until he felt his back connect with the cold wall behind him. But Albus didn’t back away and simply followed his movement until they were pressed together. Their mouths were not touching but they were so close that their hot breath was intermingling.

In quick succession, the noise of laughter grew louder, Scorpius felt his breath hitch, and Albus leaned in to press their lips together.

Scorpius was motionless underneath him. It was the strangest thing, to see him so still when Albus was so accustomed to his body being full of motion. There was never a second that he was not fidgeting with his clothing, or hair, or shifting around on his feet. But the surprise of Albus’ kiss had stopped him in his tracks.

Albus pulled away, so terrified that Scorpius didn’t understand what was happening or was completely horrified.

“Is this?” Albus panted.

“Yeah.” Scorbus replied, and leant back in.

Albus felt his heartbeat quickening. His pulse drowning out any and all noise from outside the corridor, so loud he was sure Scorpius was deafened by it. He’d never understood romance books like the ones Lily devoured, giggling and blushing in the corner of the room. He’d picked a few up out of curiosity, but he’d never believed the stuff he’d read there. The idea that a person could really make you forget the rest of the world existed seemed ludicrous. He’d spent his whole life trying to escape the world and he’d always failed. But in that moment he thought that those writers might’ve been right. All he knew anymore was Scorpius beneath him. The softness of his lips, his hipbones sharp and angular, his hands curled around Albus’ back and digging in hard.

He didn’t care about anything else anymore. Not the door or the notes or his father’s celebrity. Just kissing Scorpius until they were breathless, melting into one. Scorpius gave a gasp, his wet lips parting, and Albus licked his way into the other boy’s mouth.

Another first. So foreign, so different from the innocent kiss they’d shared on Scorpius’ childhood bed. Albus was desperate, though for what he wasn’t sure, but it was all over his hungry kisses and the possessive grip he clung to his best friend with.

Maybe Scorpius felt it too, and that’s why he returned the kisses with the same ferocity that was so out of character. He twined his hands through the short tufts of hair and the nape of Albus’ neck and tugged, anchoring himself to this moment and this boy.

Albus wanted closer, closer, closer. He followed his instincts, as inexperienced he was in everything they were doing, pressing nearer and nudging his leg in-between Scorpius’s thighs.

Scorpius ripped his lips from Albus’ with a gasp, a low noise emitting from the back of his throat that he wasn’t aware he could make.

Immediately Albus froze, the world rushing back in full blown technicolour. He was hyper aware of where every line of his body met his best friends, that he could probably feel everything, every part of him. His face flushed hot and red, the confusion and embarrassment he’d forgotten to feel came rushing back as he sprung away.

“Did they-“ Albus was looking at the floor, he couldn’t bare to look him in the eyes though he was excruciatingly aware of where he stood leaning breathlessly against the wall. “Did they leave?”

Scorpius didn’t answer. He just blinked as if he hadn’t heard or understood a single word.

“Your relatives?” Albus elaborated, looking behind him as though checking though he was really avoiding having to look at Scorpius.

“I’m not sure they came in- might’ve just passed by the corridor.” Scorpius stuttered out in a voice he’d never used before.

Albus face grew even redder. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved that there had been no one around to witness it or embarrassed his flimsy excuse had all but vanished.

“I thought-“ Albus paused slightly, coughing though he didn’t need to. “I thought if they saw us they’d think we just snuck of for some- some- alone time.”

He cringed: hearing it out loud made it sound so much more ridiculous than it had in his head. In that split second when he’d formulated the plan it had made sense as a distraction. He wasn’t sure how it had ran away with him so much.

He finally worked up the courage to glance at his best friend. Scorpius looked dazed, his lips bruised and parted, breathing deeply. He flicked his gaze to Albus’ and held it for a few seconds. Neither could make sense of what they found in each other’s eyes. Then, as if a button had been switched, he sprung back into action in all his awkward-Scorpius glory.

“Right. Great. Spiffing. Perfect plan. Now library? Research? My geeky senses are tingling just being this close to all that knowledge.” His voice was high, squeaky, and all over the place.

“Scorpius-“ Albus tried, not knowing where that sentence was going to end but not needing to since Scorpius had already set off towards the brick wall that had once housed the door to the library.

He watched him speed-walk away and an awful wave of emotion crashed over him. He couldn’t make sense of everything he was feeling. He thought this trip would just be a fun romp like always. He hadn’t expected that they would be alone and in danger again- figuring out a mystery they physically couldn’t articulate to anyone who could help. He hadn’t expected his heart to constrict whenever he looked at his best friend.

He was in over his head in so many ways he wasn’t sure he would be able to stay afloat.


	6. Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A song, a dance, some more mystery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. It's been too long. I know I'm sorry! Seriously, I'm like crazy busy here and I can not promise frequent and consistent updates. But don't give up on me because i have plans for this story! I swear I'm gonna continue it. Thank you so much for the amazing comments they honestly make my life and motivate me to write so please let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy the chapter! And happy halloween!
> 
> Also, you know once again it's late and i've not proof read lol so mistakes etc I'm sorry I suck and am terrible x
> 
> Edit: If you read the last chapter before I changed it basically I just went back and added a tiny bit of dialogue to show verbal consent between the boys during the kiss. That's literally all you need to know. Okay! Enjoy!

Scorpius gazed at the plain wall in front of him with a fixedly determined expression on his face, as if this wall was both the answer and cause of all his problems. Though in reality, his thoughts were stuck in the corridor where Albus still stood, gazing after him.

He touched his lips thoughtfully, reverently, as if Albus’ lips had turned his own into some sort of sacred place. He noticed what he was doing and ripped his hand away in a parody of horror. Albus still stood in the corridor, and Scorpius was glad he couldn’t see his burning face. He wanted to touch all the spots on himself where he could still feel the other boy’s ghost lingering.  He wanted to turn back time and make it never happen. He wanted it to happen again.

He wanted to feel normal.

“Scorpius.” Albus had found his way back to his boy again, and suddenly was jogging towards him, appearing at his shoulder. “Scorp-“

“I wonder how we get in.” Scorpius interrupted, he still hadn’t turned around. “A spell? Tap a brick maybe? Or the approximation of where a brick would be.”

He folded his arms. Then unfolded them. Then folded them again.

“I-“ Albus sounded strangled, and then he sighed. “I’m not sure. If it’s a spell, what about the trace?”

“Albus,” He wished he hadn’t said his name, it felt all different in his throat. “The trace doesn’t really count with Purebloods.”

 “Spoken like a true Malfoy.” Albus teased, desperate to maintain some form of normalcy.

“Ha. Ha.” Scorpius chanced a look back, their eyes met and then he turned away again. “You know what I mean- that they think it’s the parent’s and – also Mr Albus ‘Woe Is Me’ Potter, you’re a celebrity and your Aunt’s the Minister so…”

“Have you met Hermione?” Albus asked incredulously, fumbling with the rhythm of their relationship he knew so well. “You really think she’d let me off if she caught me doing magic underage?”

“I don’t know.” Scorpius shifted on his feet, and then turned around, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “Maybe if you snogged her again.”

“Ha!” Albus said, stepping back. “We agreed to never mention that.”

Scorpius blushed, the tips of his ears turning bright red, because now he was thinking about them kissing again. He was thinking about hands on his hips, and his hair, and tongues, and lips, and.

“The wall!” Scorpius burst out, tugging his sleeves over his hands in a familiar motion. “What do we do? If you’re against the whole spell thing- I hate to break it to you Albus but my talents are quite limited. I could try make the wall feel so awkward it just leaves? Or we give up?

“We don’t give up.” Albus shook his head, and Scorpius more sensed than saw it as he was still maintaining eye contact with the blank space where the door should’ve been. “We defeated the Dark Lord and all that.”

“Actually, we more _caused_ his return and then let other’s clean it up. But- close enough.” He stepped forward. “Maybe if I-“

 He leant forward to place his hand tentatively against the wall but found himself nearly tripping face forward as his hand slid through what had appeared to be a solid surface.

“Wow.” Scorpius exclaimed, shifting his weight to remain steady.

“Your hand-“ Albus said, struggling.

“Passed right through!” Scorpius sounded ecstatic, and he turned his head to flash the other bright a bright childish grin. “Amazing.”

“Albus, you try.” He gestured back to his friend, his voice sounded unfailingly enthusiastic like normal but Albus could detect an odd something in the way he said his name. He knew every lilt and tone of Scorpius’ voice and there was a hitch in his rhythm there never had been. A note off key.

He stepped forward, leaning awkwardly passed Scorpius to ensure that no part of their body would touch, and pressed a hand against the wall. It feel cool to his touch and definitely, completely solid.

“It must be like the barrier at Platform 9 and ¾ it can be charmed to vanish for only certain people. Like how the Platform can only be found by people who know about it because of that time in 1901 when a Muggle accidentally ran through and-“

“Scorpius.” Albus interrupted. “Normally I love to listen to you blurt out obscure historical facts, but we really do need to figure out a way in.”

He looked around hurriedly as if to emphasise his point. They were still semi exposed to the openness of the nearby room and he wasn’t sure he could handle a repeat performance of his distraction techniques on the off chance that Scorpius’ relatives were to return. He needed them to get inside the library as quickly as was physically possible. An abundance of books normally did wonders to make Scorpius forget his emotions and Albus needed to pretend that the kiss had all been in service of Figuring Stuff Out.

“Ah right.” Scorpius stepped back and pulled a comically serious face. “Focus your nerdiness Malfoy.”

Albus stood in silence and watched as Scorpius fidgeted, rocking back and forth on his feet and tugging at his stretched sweater cuffs, knowing now Scorpius was nudged in the right direction he just needed to let him ramble out loud before the answer would appear. Or, at least, that’s what he prayed would happen.

“I could…” Scorpius plunged his arm through the wall and fiddled about before exclaiming. “Ah ha a handle! Brilliant. Great. A way to open the door but-“

He turned back to look at Albus who was still unable to pass through.

“Hang on- I’m missing something. Aunt Josephine. She was majorly paranoid so why am I allowed in? Not just because I’m a Malfoy because her father was a Malfoy and I _know_ he wasn’t allowed in because of that story about Christmas day 27’ when he tried to break in and got turned into a duck.”

“Father Issues, we know all about that.” Albus cracked, and Scorpius’ grin grew a little wider.

“Maybe if I just want it and-“ He turned back to where Albus stood, and held the arm that wasn’t halfway into the wall out towards him. “Grab onto me and try again.”

Albus watched the proffered limb and was forced to make a quick decision. He could grab his friend’s wrist, an action that would probably be the safest and most likely to reinforce the ‘we’re just best friends and comrades on a mission’ vibe he’d been attempting to get back to, or he could hold his hand. It was stupid to be thinking of it in such specific terms. After all, did it really matter? But in that moment, it honestly felt as if it did.

Albus reached forward and entwined their fingers together.

“Try now.” Scorpius said urgently, flushed red with the excitement that was pushing away the remnants embarrassment.

Albus moved closer to the wall and, consequently, to Scorpius. He tentatively placed his palm on the wall that had been so solid and found it passing right through as if there was nothing but air between him and the library.

“Wow.” He breathed out.

“Double wow.” Scorpius nodded, and then he was pulling on Albus’ hand and dragging him through the wall.

()

The boys stumbled through the doorway with such force they nearly toppled over. Albus dropped Scorpius’ hand immediately out of fear that he would be propelled straight into him and they’d end up in another awkward position that he would not be able to stop thinking about.

“How in Merlin’s name did you know that would work?” Albus asked, stepping back and looking at the space they just entered through which one again resembled a heavy wooden door.

Scorpius was stood just in front of him, bent over and panting, and turned back to him with a grin.

“I didn’t!” Scorpius cried. “No clue. Nada. Zilch. For all I knew we could’ve both been trapped in that wall forever. All though you know- I’m obviously glad that didn’t happen.”

“I feel so safe in your hands.” Albus muttered dryly, and then wished he hadn’t because then he couldn’t stop thinking about what _else_ he was in Scorpius’ hands.

He needed to sort out his hormones or his emotions or whatever it was that was making him feel so confused. There must’ve been some sort of explanation for his actions in this hallway, something that didn’t make his stomach swirl and wouldn’t make him lose his best friend, he just had to figure it out and then they could get back to normal. That would’ve been a lot easier if they weren’t pretending that they were the opposite of normal, all damn day.

“Aunt Josephine sure knew how to protect a library. What is it with our Aunts and their weirdly ineffective but scary defensive mechanisms for books?” Scorpius asked, and then he looked up and was lost for good.

There were piles of book surrounding them and covering every surface. Slim volumes and thick volumes, books covered in dust and ones that looked like they’d just been put down, there were books that looked rarer and more dangerous than any that graced the restrictive section.

“Oh.” Scorpius breathed out.

Albus couldn’t help the fond smile that graced his features. Maybe this is what exactly they needed to forget what had happened in the corridor. Though he had always been joking, maybe there was some truth in the idea that Scorpius could be distracted from emotional ideas in a library. He certainly no longer seemed to be thinking about the incident.

“You okay there mate?” Albus asked. “Remember to breath.”

“I think that’s The Grimaldi Grimoire. And that might be Strougler’s Guide to Dark Artefacts in the corner.” He whispered, tentatively, as if just saying their names out loud might make them disappear.

“Can’t get these at Hogwarts then?”

“Definitely not.” Scorpius shook his head.

Albus took a step forward, towards the heavy-looking wooden table that took up a large portion of the room. It didn’t look like a particularly comfortable place to spend the day but it had plenty of space for them to spread out with their research. He had to keep reminding himself that they were there for a reason and that reason might possibly be life-or-death if the shadowy group they couldn’t talk about really were out to get him.

“Erm, Scorpius-“ Albus stopped in his tracks. “Why did that book just- just growl at me?”

“Ah.” The blonde boy stepped forward so they were stood together. “Not quite sure. Could just be a funny little quirk? Or maybe it’s about to attack. Not too sure what to expect from a book since last year. Every time I pick one up I always think there’s a possibility it might start shouting at me.”

“Shouting would be okay. Growling is a little far.” Albus shivered a little as the fuzzy book growled again.

“Shouting definitely wasn’t okay last time, but I see your point.” Scorpius eyed the book warily. “Can you see the title?”

“I think-“ Albus leant forward a little, refusing to take a step closer until he was reasonably sure he wasn’t about to get ripped to shreds by a carnivorous paper back. “I think- something – something Creature and maybe Cors-cors-“

“Oh!” Scorpius exclaimed. “Creature Consortiums and their Dangers?”

“Yeah. I mean- probably.” He shrugged, leaning back again to put as much distance between himself and the book.

“I read about this, it’s really rare. Almost no one in the western world still has a copy since it savaged a child.”

“Of course it did.” Albus sighed. “So, we need to stop it from attacking us? Correct?”

“Yup. Merlin, I miss when research was less life-threatening.” Scorpius said, though he sounded as excited as ever. “I think, I think that if you sing to it, it just relaxes and wont attack. Probably.”

“Sing?” Albus asked, sounding dumbfounded.

“Probably. I said probably. Just want to point that out in case it goes spectacularly wrong.”

“What do we sing?”

“Well,” Scorpius mused. “I’m pretty sure it’s just any song. And if it’s not then I don’t know so we should probably just run out the way we came.”

“Suddenly every song I’ve ever heard has gone out of my head.” Albus groaned in frustration.

“Sweets-“ Scorpius began, and Albus heard the tell-tale tone of panic colouring his tone that seemed to indicate he’d simply began singing the first thing that came into his head. “They always help you make friends.”

“Does that even have more than one line?” Albus asked, sounding just a little desperate.

“We can improvise?” Scorpius said loud and strangled, before singing again. “Sweets they always help you-“

“Make friends.” Albus joined in begrudgingly and Scorpius shot him a smile.

“Whether you’re at the end-“ Scorpius grabbed words wildly from his head, singing in a tune that no one would’ve wanted to heart twice. “Or the start it’s like a piece of your heart in edible form.”

“Oh sweets.” Albus had no concept of what was about to come out of his mouth or what sort of weird thing his voice was doing, but the book seemed to be quieting and the growls less frequent so he pressed forward. “Like Peppermint Imps come and play with some chimps we can eat all the sweets and the Imps and the Fizzing Whizzbees.”

“They’re better than me!” Scorpius picked up. “Oh those fizzing whizbees, just give me a bite I’ll try with all of my might oh-“

“Sweets,” The boys joined in together, as they watched the movement of the book slow to a halt. “They always help you make friends.”

They stood in silence for a second, listening for another warning growl, but the book appeared to be as still and silent as any Muggle might’ve expected. Albus took a tentative step forwards. Nothing.

“Did we just save our own lives with the sweet song?” Albus asked, looking back at his friend with a look of complete disbelief.

“I never knew my love for Peppermint Imps would come so in handy.” Scorpius said, sounding utterly exhilarated. “They won me my best friend and saved our lives.”

The two boys’ eyes met and they couldn’t help but grin. Albus felt a small tug on his heart string, and couldn’t help but acknowledging what that exchange of smiles did to him. There was a small warmth brewing in the pit of his stomach that had everything to do with the boy in front of him. But he couldn’t risk thinking about it too deeply, not when their whole nearly-killed-by-some-books-again disaster had distracted the boys enough to stop them from acting awkwardly after the kiss. He couldn’t afford to confuse himself again: they had work to do. Still, he allowed himself the indulgence of a smile and the light it lit within him.

“So-“ Scorpius broke the silence. “I’ll go get us some less weird books then?”

                                                                                   ()                                                                               

Albus plonked himself down at the nearest high-backed chair as soon as he reached the room’ s large table. He did not feel particularly like venturing any further into the library than he had to considering the greeting that they had just received. Scorpius had volunteered to go collect what he needed because 1. He couldn’t let the opportunity to get his geekiness all over a variety of rare books and 2. Albus would be of no use in identifying the necessary tomes and would much rather stay in the relative safety of the desk.  This left Albus alone with all his thoughts. He was beginning to be hopeful that they would maybe move past what he was terming The Incident, and pretend as if it never happened. Maybe it was a normal thing to do. Maybe best friends accidently made out with each other all the time and enjoyed it way too much. Maybe-

“I think”  Scorpius said, startling Albus from his thoughts as he plopped a variety of old and musty books onto the table and slid into the seat in front of him. “That that book was a defence mechanism.”

“The one that tried to kill us?” Albus asked, though he wasn’t sure why because what other book they’d encountered was going to be the defence mechanism.

“YES!” Scorpius said, his eyes lighting up. “Really quite ingenious. Makes sure even if you do get access you have to be a nerd, like me, to know how to protect yourself. Brilliant plan. I bet Old Aunt Josie was a right laugh at Parties. She died when I was little, but she must’ve liked me enough to let me into the library. I still don’t get how the magic worked but-. Maybe it was Mum, she always like my Mum. Maybe she let me in because of her.”

Scorpius’ voice always got softer in the rare moments that he spoke about his mother and Albus always felt both helpless and protective whenever it happened. This was one kind of pain he would never know and the one he wanted to protect Scorpius’ from the most.

“I bet she did.” Albus replied. “Everyone loved your Mum Scorp, I bet she knew you’d turn out just like her so she keyed you into the magic.”

The boys had no way of knowing if any of this was true. No real concept even of what had let them into the library in the first place. But the words _felt_ true and that was all that really mattered.

“Thanks.” Scorpius said, smiling softly and then he shoved a book across the table as a way to effectively end the conversation. “Now it’s time to do what we came here for.”

()

It hardly seemed like it could be possible that they’d only found out about their inability to talk about Castitate et Tenebrae that morning. Only a few hours again they’d been confident that they were going to inform the adults and let the handle the life-threatening crisis for once instead of getting themselves in too deep again. But, there they were, in too deep with the only ones that could stop this unless they figured out what was going on.

Albus hated reading about curses. He’d been okay skimming through news reports and various historical textbooks but when faced with complex charts and star patterns, or whatever else the dumb old books on obscure runes or spells or curses were talking about, he just grew frustrated. He wasn’t good at this sort of thing and he was sick of trying to pretend he was. He couldn’t understand what they were talking about and he knew that even if he was to find the answer to their predicament he wouldn’t be able to actually perform any counter-spell. He’d felt excited at the prospect of answers when Scorpius had first suggested it, and then consumed by the horribly awkward events that had transpired, but as time and research wore sat at that table he felt himself grow moody.

There was also the issue of Scorpius. Scorpius and his dumb hair and face and the way he licked his lips occasionally and sprawled out with his stupidly long limbs which meant their legs occasionally brushed. Stupid Scorpius and everything about him that distracted him into obsessing over their little encounter. He was working himself up into a panic, a job normally reserved for Scorpius, over what was going through his best friend’s mind. He’d thought he wanted them to just pretend it never happened but now that they _were_ he felt the urgent need to clarify some things. He didn’t want Scorpius to be upset, to be harbouring resentment that would later burst out in a rage and ruin their relationship. He wanted everything to be normal and not just to be pretence.

He wanted to stop reading about things he didn’t understand, to stop thinking alternatively about Scorpius lips on his and then his obvious horror that was brewing beneath the surface, he wanted to scream.

“This is useless.” Albus muttered, sulkily after two hours of near silent reading. “We’re learning nothing.”

“I’m learning rather a lot.” Scorpius looked up. “It’s just none of it is particular helpful for our situation.”

“What will we actually do if we find it anyway?” Albus huffed. “It’s not like either one of us are expert curse-breakers or anything. We’d probably just muck it up and end up in even worse trouble.”

“Hey, we know a few things about spells-“

“You think we could even begin to break something so complex we needed to go to a special library to read about it? I’m rubbish enough in class when I’m actual being taught let alone here.” He pushed his book away in a pointless gesture.

“Albus.” Scorpius looked properly at him, narrowing his eyes. “Don’t be stupid, don’t do that again.”

“Do what?” Albus asked, and he felt like a child throwing a tantrum but he couldn’t stop himself.

“You told me we weren’t losers and we could do things. And we did. And we will do it again.” Scorpius said, calmly and decidedly.

“I’m sorry.” Albus sighed, flopping against the table and running a hand through his hair. “I just- it’s getting tiring and overwhelming and a little-“

He let the sentence hang in the air.

“I know.” Scorpius replied, shutting his book. “Being haunted by some notes from a bunch of weird murderers isn’t as fun as one might think.”

“About before, I’m sorry too.” Albus said quickly, before he could second guess himself and stop the words from rushing out. “About what happened in the corridor? That was- it was just a plan – and I didn’t think about- I know touching isn’t what you’re most comfortable with I just thought it might- it might work as an excuse. I hope -just -please don’t hate me for it.”

“Albus. I could never hate you.” Scorpius blushed furiously but forced himself to remain looking at the boy across from. “I know it was just a plan. I didn’t mind at all. I’ve definitely made stupider plans. It’s okay. Remember that time I planned to surprise Rose for her birthday by making it snow in the Great Hall because she said she’d never had it snow on her birthday before but I accidentally just made it rain and she got really mad and called me a toad-brained piece of dung?”

“Yes.” Albus laughed, relieved and shaky. “In her defence, you are a bit of a toad-brained piece of dung and you did ruin her birthday cake.”

“We all do things we regret.” Scorpius joked, and Albus ignored the twist of dislike he felt at the word regret.

They sat in silence for a little while longer just flicking through the books. Albus still felt frustrated and bored with the whole thing but he felt a whole lot lighter knowing Scorpius wasn’t sat across from him burning with resentment. Even if it felt futile he had faith in Scorpius and no better plan of his own to replace the tedium of research. So, he could make it through a few more hours without screaming he was sure of it, he could do it for Scorpius and for their friendship and the mystery they needed to solve.

That was until, a few hours in, his stomach growled.

“We missed lunch.” He said, sheepishly.

“Shoot, what time is it?” Scorpius asked, rubbing his eyes as he woke up from a researching induced daze. “We should at least attend dinner with my relatives.”

“I’m not sure.” Albus shrugged, and then gestured to the piles of books surrounding them. “Did you find anything?”

“No. Maybe you’re right. Maybe this isn’t the right thing for us to be doing.” Scorpius said, looking conflicted. “I just can’t think of what else to do. There’s been no new notes, no way of telling anyone to get any help, nothing we can really do.”

“Maybe they’ll make the next move?” Albus offered. “Maybe we wait.”

“Right.” Scorpius looked a little brighter at that prospect, though Albus wasn’t sure why he would considering it probably meant wait for someone else to do something dangerous. “In the meantime, how does a delicious family meal sound?”

“Like Heaven.” He grimaced.

()

In spur of the moment, panic ridden gesture, Scorpius grabbed Albus’ hand as they walked into the hall that evening for dinner. He hadn’t planned to, he had been letting Albus take the lead in all forms of touching because he wasn’t used to it and didn’t want to come across awkward and unnatural and blow their cover, but he’d seen his hand lying uselessly by his side and just twined their fingers together.

It felt weirder to be initiating contact than to receive it. He felt like everyone was watching him and waiting for him to slip up and reveal he was actually a terrible liar who never had a relationship in his entire life.

So far, no one had clocked on.

“Aren’t you two cute?” Said the random old Aristocrat they found themselves sat with.

It seemed like there was a never ending supply of these women to coo over them and ask them incessant questions in the hopes that they’d be the ones to get some really juicy gossip they could run home and tell their friends. It made Albus and Scorpius feel like they were on display and every single thing they said would be properly scrutinised.

They were both used to fame and a certain amount of notoriety: but this was exhausting.

“Yes.” Albus grumbled. “We’re adorable.”

“HA HA.” Scorpius half-coughed, half-laughed, way too loudly.

“You certainly are.” Came a dry voice from behind, and the boys were slightly relieved to see Cecelia Osbert slide into the seat next to them.

It wasn’t that either boy had a particular attachment to the woman. They’d only met very briefly and there was something rather unsettling about her character. She commanded attention with her bird-like features and unwavering gaze that made everyone around her a little uncomfortable. But she was at least fairly young and less likely to badger them in a way most of the other guests had been doing.

“Cousin CeCe.” Scorpius said. “I trust you’re well?”

“Just grand.” She smirked, “And how about you Alberta?”

The women had trained her gaze on the lady in front of her who had previously been fussing over the boys.

“I’ve heard your Grandchildren are doing wonderfully at the Ministry?” Cecelia continued, looking back at the two teenagers and giving them a subtle wink.

“Oh- My dear! You must have just heard about young Derby’s promotions. Quite a brilliant man I must say and-“

The elderly lady continued to blather on quite contently all throughout the meal about her children and grandchildren and all the wonderful things they were doing and how much better they were than quite literally everyone else in the world. As obnoxious as it was to listen to, it was just a tad better for Albus and Scorpius than being peppered with questions about their ersatz dating life. With Cecelia’s gentle nudging the woman had managed to talk and talk for almost the entirety of the evening and, for that, the boys were eternally grateful.

“But enough about me!” The woman said, after talking about herself for what felt like years. “What about you two young gentleman? I trust you’re ready for the formal dinner on Friday? I’m sure everyone is beyond excitement about your first real introduction into the Wizarding World as a couple! I remember my dear Bertha’s first time at a formal dinner, well let me tell you the food was a disaster and Bertie-“

“What formal dinner?” Albus interrupted, fully aware that her anecdote could’ve lasted for the next hour and wanting answers immediately.

“You weren’t informed about the dinner?” Cecelia quirked an eyebrow in their direction.

“Yes.” Scorpius uttered, at almost the exact time that Albus said no.

Albus turned to shoot an accusing glare at his best friend.

“Surprise honey!” Scorpius said weakly.

“It’s tradition to have a special dinner on the first Friday night of our reunion.” Cecelia explain, looking amusedly between the two boys who appeared to be having a silent conversation. “One that is a little more elegant and refined. And, when everyone discovered Scorpius was bringing a partner, and a Potter no less, it was decided to make it a little bigger this year. Just a little formal meal and then your introduction into society as a pair.”

Albus wasn’t aware that the dinners they’d been having could be counted as informal, considering the golden candelabras and myriad of cutlery he didn’t know how to use, and he shuddered to think what a truly formal dinner might resemble. Furthermore, he had been unaware that he and Scorpius hadn’t already been introduced to the world as a couple considering they’d been pretending to everyone for the past few days.

It seemed like there were still customs in this elite world that he just didn’t understand. He was a pureblood but he was not a pureblood in the same way as the Malfoy’s were. This trip was beginning to give him an awareness of just what that difference meant.

He was, possibly for the first time in his life, very grateful to be a Potter.

He glanced over at Scorpius, hoping to find some indication of why he’d been keeping this event secret from him, but the other boy stared steadfastly ahead refusing to meet his gaze.

“Oh dear.” The old woman in front of him said, with an excited gleam in her eye. “I do hope you brought your dress robes. We are all so looking forward to the dance.”

Albus gulped. Forget pureblood extremists and their dastardly plans, it seemed like a bit of dancing and a fancy outfit was about to kill him first.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading I really hope you like how the story is progressing. I'm a little anxious about this chapter and feel it wasn't my best so I hope you enjoyed. The next chap should be a little more idk something lol x


	7. Dreaming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus and Scorpius talk about consequences, discuss possibilities, and some changes ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so long/too long and I'm sorry but I've been like insanely busy. I've had most of it finished for ages but there was just a few scenes that took a good while. But it's the longest chapter by far!! I hope that makes up for the wait. Thanks for reading and I really hope you enjoy. Sorry about mistakes because it's only me who proofreads this and I literally always do it when I'm so tired. Anyway, please comment and give me your thoughts! It encourages me massively to write and always makes me smile. Enjoy!

The rest of dinner went by excruciatingly slowly. Albus couldn’t understand why Scorpius had not told him about the dinner they would be facing that Friday. It wasn’t even that he felt betrayed or hurt just befuddled. They didn’t really keep things from each other. Not anymore. Not after everything they’d been through.

And it seemed like such a silly secret too. He wouldn’t deny that he wasn’t particularly thrilled at the prospect of dancing and being fancy in a room full of snobs but he wasn’t mad about it. A little worried about making a fool of himself, a little nauseous about the prospect of spending so much time in such close proximity with Scorpius when his emotions were so messed up, but he wasn’t angry with Scorpius for it. He was fairly certain Scorpius, whose skills were more suited to thinking than anything that involved any form of movement, would rather not have to attend Friday night’s dinner if it had been his choice. So he just couldn’t understand why he hadn’t told him.

They left the dinner and walked in silence to the corridor their rooms branched off. He could practically feel the worry and panic undulating in waves off Scorpius’ jittery form as they walked and he felt a small well of guilt emerge within him. He hadn’t meant to make Scorpius feel worried, as he clearly did, as it was surely _him_ who should be guilty considering the events that had transpired that day. Though they had fought their way through that messy patch of emotions as best they could.

As they reached their separate doors, Albus paused and turned towards the room that was not his own.

“Wanna talk?” Albus said, though it was less a question and more acknowledgment of what was about to happen. 

“Right. Right. Of course. Yes, c’mon. My room?” Scorpius said, bobbing his head in an awkward gesture before leading the way into his temporary bedroom.

He perched himself crossed legged on the bed with his back against the ornate headboard. Albus found himself sat opposite him, a mirror image, in a way that so reminded him of their first kiss that he had to quell the blush that was beginning to colour his cheeks.

“So, dinner?” Albus asked.  

“Look,” The Blonde boy began, shifting uncomfortably. “My dad only told me a few days ago and I already made the whole world think you were dating a loser and I didn’t want you to be mad at me. I hate when we fight Albus, it makes me feel all weird and the opposite of how you normally make me feel. I was going to tell you but then oo-scary-cult problem happened and I got a little distracted.”

“I get it.” Suddenly Albus was so very tired, though he wasn’t even sure of what. “I just don’t see why it’s such a big deal. It’s only a dinner and maybe some dancing.”

“Ah.” Scorpius looked down to avoid his gaze, biting his lip a little. “Well it is just a _tad_ bit of a big deal. Just a tinsy bit big. Like Hagrid sized instead of full on giantess.”

“I’m sort of afraid to ask this question, but why?”

“Well,” Scorpius huffed. “It just has some connotations in our world when you – come out. As a couple. Not, you know, Gay, because you aren’t.”

Albus shrugged.

“It just- it makes us seem Serious.”

Albus chucked a little at the grave tone Scorpius was using.

“Serious? What? We’re engaged to be married or something.”

“No!” Scorpius shouted, the tips of his ears turning red. “Just- you’re meant to come out when you finally find someone important. My Dad did with my Mum when they were dating and- I don’t know. It just might make things a little harder to explain away when all this is over.”

“We just tell everyone we’re better off friends.” Albus said. “We aren’t contractually obliged or anything?”

“Well. No-“

“There you go.” Albus interrupted, vaguely bemused. “Then it’ll all be ok.”

“If you say so.” Scorpius said, letting it go with great relief.

It felt like he should be explaining it more but he couldn’t bring himself to verbalise it. There was some sort of importance placed on these type of events that he hadn’t fully conveyed to Albus. It wasn’t necessarily a commitment but it led to certain expectations from society. Neither Scorpius nor Albus were the type of person who felt an obligation to those people so he wasn’t sure why he was obsessing over it. He just couldn’t stop thinking of the images that hung in Malfoy Manor: Draco and Astoria dancing on the night they came out with matching blinding grins.

“You say it’s ok. It’s ok.” He repeated, looking up decisively.

“I appreciate the confidence there Scorp.” Albus grinned.

“And I appreciate your dry humour Albus.” Scorpius returned the smile.

They sat in silence on the bed. It was warm and comfortable in a way that silence can only be between people who know each other so well. Albus wanted to stay in that moment, to capture it in a bubble and make sure it never burst, but he was tired too. He knew that the end of that feeling was inevitable and he couldn’t find it in him to prolong it.

He just hope that their friendship wasn’t so changed by the events of this stupid fake dating event that they would find comfortable movements few and far between. He wanted every moment between them to be as soft as possible.

“Goodnight Scorpius.” He said, clambering off the bed. “See you tomorrow.”

“Night. Night. Don’t let the Nargles bite.” Scorpius said softly, watching as the door shut between them.

()

That night, Albus dreamt of Thestrals. He had been oddly pleased the night he’d seen them for the first time after the death of Craig. There was something oddly satisfying about having a concrete reminder of what had transpired out there on the Quidditch Pitch. That way, he felt like he was never in danger of forgetting the boy who had been killed because of him and he would be forced to carry around the memory and knowledge of that event. He felt he deserved that.

That night he rode one, perched between their leathery wings, flying through the cold night sky of London. He was close enough to the stars it felt like he could stick out his tongue and let them dissolve on it.

Then, suddenly, he was falling. But it wasn’t in a bad way. It was as if he was floating slowly down to towards a mattress he knew would catch him. Instead of a mattress, he found Scorpius. His dreams worked in the way that dreams so often did: disconnected and nonsensical. Without explanation he drifted away from flying and instantaneously found himself entwined with his best friend. They were dancing, spinning about the room in an inelegant waltz, and Albus could feel how every line of their body connected in perfect clarity. Their dance became less of a dance and more of a tight hug swaying gently to some unheard music.

“Albus.” Dream-Scorpius’ voice was soft, and melted in his ears. “I’ve always wanted this.

“I” Dream-Albus stuttered. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Me neither. I never do.” Dream-Scorpius replied.

And then they were kissing. They kissed in their dream in a way that Albus had tried not to let himself think about when he was awake and trying to deal with reality. But there was no such thing as self-control or denial in the dream world he found himself so his subconscious gave him this indulgence.

There were no constraints to their actions or worry over the others’ thoughts. In this fantasy, Albus had Scorpius pressed against a wall his hands scrabbling beneath the other boy’s cotton t-shirt searching the expanse of his stomach muscles. They existed there in a world without fear or embarrassment and their dream versions seemed intent to make the most of it. They were connected at every point of contact. They breathed each other in.

Albus woke up.

He was royally screwed.

()

He lay there for a few minutes attempting to quiet the thundering of his heart. He couldn’t tell if it was residual pleasure from his dreams or the terror that Scorpius was going to walk in any minute and he would be unable to act like a normal human being.

There were many times in their years of acquaintance that Albus had wished his friend was less of an early riser, it was helpful when they had lessons that Albus would never have woken up in time for but less so when it was the weekend and he was trying to be lazy and sleep in without having a blonde mop of hair in his face screeching his name, but he had never wished so badly than that morning. He thought that through sheer strength of will he might be able to delay Scorpius bursting into his room shouting about breakfast until he’d calmed down, which looked to be in around the next century.

There were definitely, definitely, completely normal and sane and reasonable explanations for what had happened in his dream. He was a teenage boy. He was a hormonal mess who’d been spending the past few days in very close proximity to Scorpius. Scorpius was also a teenage boy. A very attractive teenage boy.

The last thought startled him. He’d never strung that thought together in quite that way before. Oh, he was well aware that Scorpius wasn’t repellent or ugly or anything. In fact, he liked looking at Scorpius because he was precisely the opposite of all those things. He was all soft pink lips, straight teeth, hair that you wanted to touch. He supposed that all those things together made Scorpius attractive in a sort of abstract way. He hadn’t considered that he was _actually_ attractive to Albus.

But then there was the dream.

Albus clenched his eyes shut tight in the hopes of forcing the images his mind had conjured up for him out of his mind. But still they lingered: playing on repeat like a movie he couldn’t switch off.

This was normal. Albus repeated inside his mind: a mantra to keep away the bad thoughts. He had to assume this was fluke, the consequence of his circumstance, and that it meant nothing. To consider anything else was to risk his friendship and that was something he was not willing to do.

It was okay for them to kiss in service of their mission. That made sense and was easy to explain away. He’d gotten caught up yesterday in their kiss but it could be explained in the context of their lies and their friendship.

To kiss just to kiss could not.

He had to assume that the dream was just an accident. That his brain had simply taken his recent experiences and regurgitated them into some fantasy scenario to be played whilst he slept. 

A series of rapid knocks on the door jolted him from his thoughts and he barely had time to sit up before Scorpius was bounding into his room.

“Albus! Wake u-. Oh.” Scorpius stopped his tracks when he saw that Albus was already awake. “This is unusual, to see Albus Potter awake on his own before midday? What was it? Bad dreams?”

“No.” Albus choked out, his voice was doing a weird, high-pitched, strangled thing at the mention of dreams.

“Albus.” Scorpius stopped grinning and looked a little concerned. “Are you sure? You sound odd?”

“I’m fine.” He responded, trying his hardest to make everything he said as short and as normal as possible.

The problem with trying to appear normal is that it often leads you to looking anything _but_. Everything he usually did without even thinking became a puzzle he had to crack. How should he move his hands? What sort of inflections did he normally put on his voice? Should he be saying Scorpius or Scorp?

“You sure?” Scorpius looked slightly dubious, and took a seat on the end of the bed. “You let me prattle on about nightmares, and books, and general geekery so it only seems fair that you should tell me if something’s bothering you.”

Albus could feel Scorpius’ body-heat radiating from where he perched over the covers. If he shifted just slightly to the right they would be touching. It was all he could think about.

“Honestly Scorp- I just woke up early there’s nothing to tell you. Some of us aren’t as much of a loser as you are.” He tried to grin at that last statement to let the other boy know he was joking but he was worried it came out looking more like a grimace.

“Hmm.” Scorpius said, shifting about in his position on the bed in a way that made Albus tense up in a strange mix of fear and anticipation. “Okay. Breakfast then? I’ll meet you in the corridor.”

“Sounds good.” He replied, his voice stopping just short of a sigh of relief.

Scorpius smiled and, as he stood, reached down to absentmindedly pat his best friend’s blanket covered knee before he left the room.

 Albus felt the warmth on his skin even through the many layers and it lingered long after the door swung shut.

()

Albus knew that day would be torture as soon as they sat down to breakfast.

He very nearly flinched when Scorpius leant past him to grab the pumpkin juice and just barely managed to maintain a thin veil of normalcy because he was surrounded by people who would jump at any sign of anything unusual and ferret it away to dispense as some titbit of gossip.

Every action Scorpius did held some new untold meaning that he’d never noticed before. Albus watched the other boy’s Adam’s apple bob up and down as he took a gulp of his drink and felt his own mouth go dry. Images from their encounter in the hall and his dreams were swimming through his head in an unstoppable stream.

There had been their real kiss, not the chaste kind but the urgent one fuelled by reckless fear and terrible planning and hormones, and that was bad enough. But, if he didn’t think about it too hard he could justify it and place it into a little box labelled ‘This Messed-Up Summer’ and destroy it when everything was back to normal. But his dream wasn’t letting him not think about it.

His dream was forcing it to the front of his mind and asking, what if we didn’t have to stop? What if it was okay? What if you liked it?

Scorpius was feigning polite interest in the woman opposite and whatever she was prattling on about. Albus couldn’t pretend to be aware of what was happening around him: it took all of his concentration just to act like he wasn’t fixated on every movement his best friend made.

Scorpius was spreading jam across his toast and lifted his knife to lick off the remnants that clung to it. He looked across to Albus, feeling his eyes on him, expecting to share a sheepish grin at the scandalous act of licking his cutlery. Instead, he found Albus just staring at him. No smile to share.

 “Albus?” Scorpius said, quietly so that no one else could hear. “You okay?”

“Fine.”

“You sure?” He crumpled his eyebrows in such an obvious display of concern that it made Albus’ heart hurt.

“Yes Scorp.” He said shortly.

He could tell that the other boy wanted to say more and was, for the first time in his life, grateful for all the relatives that surrounded them. There was no way for them to really have a private conversation when they were with them and he was thankful for that. He wasn’t sure he could’ve made it through that morning if they’d been alone without doing something stupid like telling him about the dream or launching himself at his best friend.

Still, there was only so long that could last. There would come a point that they would be left alone and Albus knew Scorpius was going to want to talk. He knew he was being weird but he couldn’t help it. It felt like Scorpius was emitting his own force of gravity and Albus was trying to ignore the laws of science.

The clock inched by and he couldn’t tell if it was more painful or less painful than normal. He didn’t usually want to prolong his conversations with the relatives but he wasn’t always as hyper aware of where his best friend shifted beside him.

“We should be going we have homework to do.” Scorpius smiled brightly and falsely at the woman across them.

“You two boys seem to be spending an awful lot of time _working_ on something?” Replied the middle aged Witch, the same obnoxious woman from the evening before who’d managed to worm her way to them again, and she said it with such suggestion in her voice that Albus barely refrained from cringing.

Scorpius was, as usual, oblivious.

“Oh you know- Hogwarts and that! They do keep us busy. Old McGonagall’s a big fan of homework. Me too. Sometimes.” He prattled on.

“Of course they do. But you really must spare some time for your Aunt Alberta, we are getting awful lonely without your fresh blood around.” She giggled, taking a gulp from her glass.

“Soon.” Scorpius said, an empty promise, and then he was standing and shooting not-so-subtle looks at Albus to get him to follow suit.

“Have a nice day.” Albus said as he stood, dreading the moment he would exit the hall.

They walked in silence past most of the Malfoy relatives, giving the occasional wave or greeting to those they couldn’t avoid, and when they made it through the double doors Albus felt every part of him stand on edge.

“Library?” He suggested quickly, before Scorpius had the chance to ask him anything.

“Actually – you were getting pretty sick of libraries yesterday and I have some books upstairs. We could brainstorm in my room?”

“Okay.” Albus said, because he couldn’t find the energy within him to protest.

As they walked to their bedrooms, Albus cursed himself for agreeing to be alone with Scorpius without the buffer of a public place. But he was sick of the libraries, both the deadly and non-deadly kind. They were spending hours surrounded by books but making no progress. That’s what it felt like and every minute longer he spent in there was another minute driving him mad. So he didn’t complain, he just gritted his teeth and follow Scorpius to his room.

“Oof.” Scorpius sighed, launching himself at his bed as Albus entered and shut the door behind himself.

They were alone.

Albus was, once again, struck by the inability to act like he normally would. Suddenly, he was hovering by the doorway as if he was some kind of guest that had no level of familiarity with the room or its inhabitants. The truth was far from that, he was probably too familiar with Scorpius, but he couldn’t bring himself to do what he would usually do.

Usually, he would’ve launched himself at the bed too or tugged on Scorpius’ socked foot to get him to move up and cracked a joke about his lack of elegance. But things had changed and he was mesmerised by other things: like the place where Scorpius’ shirt had ridden up revealing a slice of pale skin.

“Al,” Scorpius scooted up, his back was against the headboard and he patted the empty space in front of him.

Albus had no choice but to sit down. He was at least grateful that Scorpius’ shifting had taken his bare skin out of sight so he could gain a little more presence of mind but he wasn’t sure how long that would last.

“Are you ok?” Scorpius asked, once Albus was facing him cross-legged on the bed. “You’ve been acting weird all morning. You’re being weirder than me that time I thought Rose was asking me to Hogsmeade before I realised she was just asking me to tutor her friend while she went with Gibert Oak.”

“I can’t believe you thought Rose would ever ask you out.” Albus said, clutching at anything to change the subject.

“Oy, I think you’ll find I’m very desirable. I’m sure you don’t need reminding about-“

“Polly Chapman. I know I know.” Albus laughed, but it came out all strange because he couldn’t help focusing on just how true Scorpius’ words were.

“Right.” Scorpius cracked a smile, but Albus watched as his expression softened and knew he was not out of trouble yet. “But seriously, what’s wrong? Is it me? Is it the dinner? Is it because I’m an unbelievable weirdo who never tells you about his plans involving you? Or am I channelling you and making it all about myself?”

“It’s not you Scorpius.”

“I just want you to be okay Albus. That’s all I ever want.”

His words so nearly mimicked what he’d said in Albus’ dream, though the context was starkly different, that the other boy felt his heart lurch.  

“I don’t know how to dance!” He blurted out, looking down at where his hands lay twisted in his lap to avoid looking at his best friend while he lied to his face.

“And I don’t how to scuba dive. What’s this got to do with anything?” Scorpius asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

“You know- the ball and the dinner.” Albus said.

“Oh. It is the meal then. Right. Nobody cares if you don’t know how to dance. They’ll be too busy cooing over how adorable we are. Besides, you seemed okay with it yesterday?” He pointed out.

“I had a dream.” Albus admitted, keeping his lie as close to the truth as possible without revealing things that would surely ruin their friendship. “We were dancing only I was terrible and then everyone laughed at us. And my Dad was there and he was laughing. And everyone told us we were losers.”

“Oh Albus.” Scorpius face crumpled. “No one laughs at you.”

“People do. It’s fine. I don’t care.” He wouldn’t look Scorpius in the eyes, couldn’t, because he was so afraid of what he’d find there. The pity he’d see, and the guilt, all of it so unnecessary because it was Albus who deserved to feel guilty.

Guilty for lying. Guilty for being too self-centred. Guilty for wanting to reach over and kiss him.

“That’s it then.” Scorpius said decisively, hauling himself up from the bed with a flourish. “I always imagined you as more of the teacher and me the teachee but this works too.”

“What?” Albus asked, staring dumbstruck at Scorpius’ outstretched hand.

Normally he could follow along with whatever was running through his best friend’s brain at a million miles per hour but he suddenly found himself lost.

“I’ll teach you to dance.” Scorpius replied, as if it was obvious.

Albus looked Scorpius up at down and tried to picture him dancing. He was so used to seeing Scorpius fidgety, shifting constantly on his feet or tugging at the sleeves of whatever he was wearing, that it was almost absurd to imagine him dancing to anyone’s specifications: he was a bundle of nervous energy not meant to be contained in precise dance steps.

 But he couldn’t deny that there was a certain elegance to him that Albus had never had. He was, after all, still a Malfoy. And that translated somehow in the way he held himself upright, the soft curve of his neck, his wrists that Albus could only describe as delicate, as if Scorpius was some kind of Victorian gentlewoman.

“You know how to dance?” He said, after a beat had passed. He’d intended to make some joke or quip but he was too distracted by his examination of the other boy; his heart beating oddly in his chest.

“Of course. It’s tradition for the Malfoys. Mum had to bribe me with Jelly Slugs and new books to go but I went. Pretty much every pureblood has to learn. It’s what’s expected.”

“Oh.”

“Well?” He wiggled his hand in Albus’ face.

“I-“ Albus faltered.

“C’mon. It won’t be that horrible. I think.”

“There’s no music.” He protested.

“Ah,” Scorpius dropped his hand and scurried across the room to where an old-fashioned Magical radio sat on a heavy, wooden chest. He tapped it gently and the sound of a female voice warbling suddenly filled the room. “There!”

He bounded back across the room to where Albus still sat, frozen at the foot of the bed, and held out his hand once again.

“I don’t-” Albus began, eyeing Scorpius’ palm like it was a wild animal about to bite him. This was the opposite of what he needed to be happening. The best case scenario was for Scorpius to stay as far away from him as possible so he could get his head straight, so he could stop fixating on Scorpius’ body parts that he normally never thought of, and could forget the images from his dream that his mind wouldn’t stop recalling. But here was Scorpius, with his palm outstretched, and Albus wanted to take it so badly, so badly, but he knew he shouldn’t.

“Please. I’ll consider it a favour, you’re giving me a chance to show off my legendary dance skills.” He joked, wiggling his eyebrows.

 “I’m not sure. I don’t know.” Albus looked down, he couldn’t do it.

 “Ah. You’re probably right.” Scorpius was suddenly uncertain with himself, he dropped his arm so it now lay limply by his side. “Stupid idea. Sorry.”

“No.” It was the tone of Scorpius’ voice that made him stand up, the insecurity he could hear colouring it, he didn’t want to hear that and he never wanted to be the cause of it. “I’m being dumb. Just teach me. Please?”

“Oh. Okay then.” Scorpius replied, looking puzzled but smiling again. “I’ll lead because that’s what I was taught. And I’m taller.”

“Rub it in why don’t you.” Albus mock-grumbled.

“Take my hand.” Scorpius ordered.

Albus did as he was told, allowing himself to be pulled into to the other boy’s body, to let Scorpius position his arm for him, to feel the heat radiating from Scorpius’ palm where it rested against his back.

“Okay.” Scorpius said, when he felt they were positioned correctly. “Just follow me okay. I step forward, and you step back. Got it?”

“Hmm.” Albus responded, it was all he could muster up.

They were so close. And he suddenly realised that this was how it had begun, his dream, with just a dance. There was nothing innocent about what he was thinking, about his instinct to move in closer, but he couldn’t keep his head clear.

All he could think about was how warm he felt, how solid Scorpius arm was around him, how much he wanted close the gap between them.

Scorpius stepped forward and Albus failed to move backwards.

“Oof.” Scorpius narrowly avoided stomping on the other boy’s foot, managing to stop himself just before, tugging on Albus to stay upright and inadvertently bringing him closer until their bodies were flush against each other.

Albus took a sharp intake of breath.

“I said step back.” Scorpius laughed, so close Albus could feel the warmth of his breath against his face.

“Sorry.” He mumbled, looking down, anything to avoid looking into Scorpius’’ eyes. He wasn’t afraid of what he’d find there, but of what Scorpius would see in his.

“I probably didn’t explain well.” Scorpius said, stepping back so they were an appropriate distant apart. “It’s best if you count out the rhythm: one, two, three, one, two, three.”

Albus tried, staring down at his feet as he tried to get them to match the rhythm.

“I know that I’m not stunningly attractive but I didn’t think I was hideous.” Said Scorpius, after a few minutes of Albus’ steadfast refusal to lift his gaze from the floor.

“What?” He whipped his head up so quickly that he nearly gave himself whiplash. “You aren’t hideous, I mean-“

“I just meant you don’t need to stare at your feet all the time. Just look at me- it might help.” He was smiling, looking so sincere, and Albus could do nothing but obey.

It felt different now that they were looking at each other, a shift in atmosphere, and Albus couldn’t detect if it was in his head or if Scorpius was feeling it too. He was still stumbling, unsure of where his feet were moving, the beats in his head not matching up with the ones in his limbs, but Scorpius seemed unperturbed and only held him tighter when he messed up. 

He tried to just focus on the music that was still issuing softly from the radio because he couldn’t trust his brain with anything else. The channel seemed to be playing nothing but Amada Infirma, a famous female Witch who was known for her soft and romantic ballads, and Albus was just grateful it wasn’t Celestina Warbeck. He had fond memories of Amada Infirma. It had been an Amada song that had apparently played at his parent’s wedding and, though they maintained it had only been to placate Gran’s insistence on a romantic song, he’d caught his father on more than one occasion humming it while he span his mother around the room.

It felt both wrong and right for her to be singing while he danced with Scorpius, like it meant more than it should, more than just a tutorial based on a lie.

“You’re getting the hang of it.” Scorpius said encouragingly, as they waltzed haphazardly through the room.

“Yeah?” He replied, embarrassed at how eagerly he was soaking up any hint of praise.

“It’s good to know we can both dance. You know, in case we find ourselves in one of those life or death dance off situations. I don’t know how common those are but - I didn’t think books that tried to kill me were common and I was definitely wrong about that.”

He was being so Scorpius about it, so unbelievably uncool and unsmooth in what could’ve been a romantic moment, and it made Albus want to kiss him more than he’d ever wanted to do anything in his life.

He would’ve done it, he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself, if the screeching of the radio hadn’t snapped him out of whatever trance Scorpius had him under.

“That was Amada Infirma with ‘No Potions’ and this is Carson Corbeck with The Amortentia Hour, bringing you the most romantic tunes for all you lovers out there. Up next, Lady Legilimency with ‘You love me and I know it.’”

The harsh, overly-performed radio host’s voice and the jolting change in song forced Albus back into his usual mind-set. He couldn’t cross that line, not like this, so he ripped himself away from the other boy with a start.

“Thanks. I think I’m as good as I’m gonna get.” He said, turning his bad so it was half facing away from Scorpius. “And we should probably do some work.”

“No. That’s great. I mean not great. Good! As you said! Ha. Ha. Because you’re not great you’re just good. Not that I’m saying you couldn’t be great but just, right now, you’re good.” Scorpius blathered on.

“Right.” Albus laughed, it was hollow in his ears. 

“I’ve seen how much you love me / I’ve been inside your mind / so why not let me show you / how I feel just in kind.” Lady Legilimency sang in the background as the two boys, once again, found themselves unable to look at each other.

()

They sat on opposing ends of the bed whilst they worked. Albus would’ve preferred almost anything else to sitting on that bed but the only other option was the floor and he was too tired to come up with an excuse to move. He left the largest possible space between them. The gap felt like it stretched entire galaxies, it was still too close for him to concentrate.

He studied the book in front of him with a practiced intensity that, had Scorpius not been heavily buried in some giant volume on curses, would’ve been easy to look through. He couldn’t even bring himself to be worried anymore, or scared, he was just exhausted with himself. Every day felt like a constant battle and he was never really sure what the real enemy was.

He just wanted to give up, or to fade away, and to not have something as inconsequential as his mixed up emotions about his best friend constantly in his head whilst he was quite possibly in terrible danger.

“I think you were right.” Scorpius said, looking up from his work and startling Albus from the mess of his own mind.

“About what?”

“Not sure. Something along the lines of this being a colossal waste of time.” He replied.

“I don’t think I said it quite like that.” Albus said, slightly taken aback. “And you told me, rightly, to stop being a git.”

“You were being a bit of a git. But I’ve been thinking and maybe you were right about some stuff. I don’t think researching is a waste of time or that we’re useless or any of that other nonsense.” He elaborated. “What I’m saying is maybe we’ve been researching the wrong thing.”

Albus looked down at the book, which still lay open in his lap, and thought about how little help it had been in the past few days.

“You’re probably right.” He admitted, sighing and shoving the book away from himself. “But what else are we meant to be researching?”

“A way to retaliate.” Scorpius said, staring at him with such an excited glint in his eyes it was almost scary.

“What? Defense spells and that?”

“No!” He bounced the bed a little in his excitement. “A way to get _around_ the curse. We don’t necessarily need to know what it is to try ways to counter it. If we could just find a way to tell someone about it then our problems would be solved. Well, not solved but significantly better than right now where we face death any minute. Because – I don’t know about you Albus- but I’d quite like not to face this alone. It’s becoming a habit I’d rather break.”

“How do we counter something that could be an ancient bloody Mayan curse for all we know?” Albus asked, though he was quite relieved at the idea of putting down all the books he didn’t understand for once.

“Ooh, is this another quiz?” Scorpius asked, grinning, and Albus couldn’t help but let out a little laugh.

“If you want.”

“If it is ‘an ancient bloody Mayan curse’ then we could try focus on developments in the wizarding world. If something didn’t exist then it won’t have been accounted for so whatever it is that’s working on us might not work against that.”

“Like new spells? Or inventions?” Albus said, running with Scorpius’ ideas as he had long learnt to do. “Like Wizarding Wheezes stuff or something?”

“Albus. That is brilliant. Really. Genius. Probably won’t work. But as a concept I am definitely sold.”

“Glad to help.” He half-joked, and he found himself blushing at the other boys compliment.

He couldn’t believe such an innocuous comment was eliciting that kind of reaction from him. He was blushing at the smallest of compliments when he should’ve laughed, or focused on the actual task, or done anything other than turn pink.

“Do you have any Weasley Wizarding Wheezes stuff here?” Scorpius asked excitedly, shifting so he was now kneeling. “So we can try experimenting?”

“Of course. You’ve met Uncle Ron right? You think he’d send me off to a Malfoy family reunion without giving me the maximum amount of stuff to cause trouble? I didn’t think I’d used any of it but I have a whole box full in my room.”

“Go get it! We can look through and see if anything is useful.”

Albus stood up, grateful to stretch his limbs, and nipped quickly to get the stack of things he’d been given that he’d buried at the bottom of his trunk. When he returned, his hands cradling the box of various dangerous products, he found Scorpius at the end of the bed looking like a child on a sugar rush.

“Remind me next time to thank your Uncle for being brilliant. This is so good I could kiss him! Do you think now you’ve kissed your Aunt I could kiss your Uncle?”

“Definitely not.” Albus said, sternly. “And please don’t place that mental image in my head.”

He didn’t want to imagine Scorpius kissing anyway, least of all Ron, because he inevitably placed himself in the position of whoever the other boy had been kissing.

“Tip it out then.” Scorpius scooted back, giving the other boy space to spread out their goodies. “Let’s have a look.”

 ()

They spent the rest of the day looking through the stuff they had, testing them gently to avoid falling prey to the Wizarding Wheezes’ many pitfalls, and brainstorming ways to use them. Many, predictably, would be useless but there were a few things they thought could be possibilities. Albus even pocketed a packet of instant Darkness powder immediately because he’d seen how effective they could be.

Their experimentations were interrupted by the various meals they were obliged to attend, all excruciating as per usual, and punctuated with many sighs and longing glances on Albus’ part. He couldn’t shake the remnants of the dream from within him and every unthinking action of Scorpius exacerbated the emotions within him.

He found himself wishing he’d just kissed him when he’d had to chance to during their little dance lesson. He was worried, terrified even, of the implications on their friendship. But more than anything he was tired, and restless, and sick of pretending that he didn’t want to kiss him.

He just wanted to know what it would be like if, just for a second, he gave into the desire that he was swimming in. He wanted to know what it meant, to want someone in the way he wanted Scorpius, if it meant he liked boys or just that specific boy or if he was just hormonal and obsessing over inconsequential things.

This was all floating through his mind as he said goodnight to Scorpius and changed into his pyjamas. He didn’t even get into bed, just stood staring at his pristine covers knowing that he wouldn’t be able to sleep if he tried so there didn’t seem a point in trying. Then suddenly, something snapped within him, whatever resistance he’d been trying to build fell away as he stared at the heavy coverings of his bed.

Would it be so bad just to explore what he wanted?

As exhausted as he was physically, he was more exhausted with denying himself what he wanted. In one big rush of energy, so as not to second guess himself, he span round and headed towards Scorpius’ room.

His knock on the door was harsher than he’d meant, and the sound echoed unsettlingly in the corridor, he opened the door without waiting for a response.

“Albus?” Scorpius asked from where he lay in bed, staring confusedly at the figure silhouetted in his doorway.

He leant over to switch his bedside lamp on as Albus stepped in properly and let the door swing shut behind him. The ornate lamp left them bathed in a soft, yellow glow that illuminated Albus stood at the bottom of the bed with an inscrutable expression on his face.

“Is everything okay?” Scorpius asked, alarmed by his best friends sudden appearance.

“No, yeah everything’s fine.”

There was a pause.

“I just want to try something.” Albus said.

“Okay?” Scorpius said, scrambling so he was sat upright propped against the pillows.

The shifting moved the bed clothes and, despite the tension that hung in the air, Albus nearly laughed when he saw that Scorpius was wearing a dark green, silk, buttoned up pyjama shirt. It was such a sharp contrast to his grey t-shirt and plain black sweatpants, such a Scorpius thing to be wearing, that it highlighted the absurdity of the situation so perfectly.

He didn’t laugh, didn’t break the tension, instead he began to clamber on to the bed. He moved slowly, deliberately, to give Scorpius a chance to react or protest.

But the other boy lay there, perfectly still, with the only sound in the room being the sound of their breathing.

“This okay? Albus asked softly, he’d crawled so that he was near straddling the boy and leant down so that their lips were inches apart.

“Yeah.” Scorpius said, so quietly he would’ve missed it if it wasn’t for the stillness of the room.  

He closed the gap slowly, still giving the other boy time to change his mind or pull away, but Scorpius, whether consciously or unconsciously, leaned forward to make him close it quicker.

When their lips touched Albus felt something burning within him, shooting through his veins, that he wasn’t aware anyone could ever feel. This was like neither of their other kisses. This was softer, deeper, not urgent or innocent but deliberate. Each touch of lips, of tongue, of mouth against mouth, felt like a choice that they were making.

It was something not driven by circumstance or convenience. It was deeper than that: an aching thing that had been growing within them for some time, which had grown into this kiss, into something that could only be released through their lips and hands in the dim light of the bedroom.

Scorpius lifted his hand from where it lay on the bed, scrambling desperately to hold onto the other boy. He wanted to anchor himself to the situation and found his hand bunching up unconsciously in the soft, fabric of the other boy’s top as he leant upwards.  

As Albus broke the kiss, to catch his breath and shift positions, he felt Scorpius following him and rising up to prolong it. They looked at each other for a second, not saying anything, before Scorpius pressed their lips together.

Albus shifted again, pressing closer and closer so that every part of them touched, but as he did so he accidently shifted a book that had been left by Scorpius’ side causing it to fall off the bed and land on the floor with an unceremonious crash.

The noise made them both stiffen, waking them to the reality of the house full of adults, and as they heard a creak outside the door they both felt the panic set in.

“I should go.” Albus said, pulling back and jumping off the boy in one fluid motion.

“No. Yes. Yes. It could be my dad. It could be, definitely. I mean- you should go. Go. Sleep well. Just-“

“Right. Right.” Albus replied, more flustered than he’d ever been as he smoothed down his clothes and headed for the exit.

He peaked out the door and found the corridor empty but it didn’t still the fast beating of his heart.

“Goodnight.” Scorpius cried out, his voice odd and strangled.

“Night.” Albus said gently, as he slipped from the room towards his own.

{}

He was too caught up what he’d just experienced to notice the small piece of parchment that had been slipped beneath his door. It hadn’t been the eldest Malfoy that had caused the creak outside the door, nor some other harmless family member, but something much more sinister.

The note, with its creepy message and indecipherable symbols, would leave Albus with a chill in his bones when he would wake up and read it. A chill that would linger long after he had its words and images committed to memory.

_WE ARE HERE_

_Castitate et Tenebrae_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao can u believe I wrote 7,000 words of Albus being sexually frustrated. Sorry bout it! Hope you enjoyed, plz let me know :)


	8. Communication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A misunderstanding occurs. Some secrets are revealed, some stay quite hidden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Slightly quicker than last time! Sorry for the wait. Hope you enjoy. Again, mistakes/ no one proofreads etc etc. Let me know what you think and thank you so much for reading

Albus woke up alone on that cool, damp morning at Blishwick Manor. It seemed absurd that he’d only been there for a handful of days when he contemplated everything that he’d felt, all the changes he could count, and it felt like he’d passed lifetimes in that mansion amidst the prying eyes of the Malfoy relatives.

He lay in silence in bed for a short while: contemplating his actions from the night before. He watched them in his minds eyes with a hazy sort of understanding that lent them the same sense of unreality that had permeated his dreams until he wasn’t sure what was actually real or not. He couldn’t believe the same hands that lay clenched in his bedsheets had played with the buttons of Scorpius’ shirt and clutched at the exposed skin, or the lips that he parted in a yawn had been the same lips that had parted his best friends’ with soft desire.

He couldn’t say that he was perfectly sure of how he felt, but he no longer felt sick with confusion. There was a sense within him that let him know he didn’t necessarily have to have all his emotions figured out. It was enough for him to know that he liked boys, had liked Scorpius, and had liked kissing him without pretence. It was okay for now that he wasn’t sure exactly what that meant or how to put it into words. He just felt content that it wasn’t wrong anymore, hadn’t ruined anything, because nothing that was wrong could’ve felt that right.

He was so lost in his own thoughts it took a while for him to realise that he’d woken up without prompting, without help from the youngest Malfoy. He wrongly assumed that he’d woken early, like the day before, and quickly tugged on some clothes, relishing the idea that he’d be the one to wake Scorpius for a change.

But then he brushed the curtains and spotted the high position of the sun, the bright light that filtered through the room, illuminating it so strongly it cast doubt on his reasoning of the time. That was the first warning. The second was the note that the light hit upon: the parchment beneath his door that made him freeze in fear.

 Castitate et Tenebrae had arrived at Blishwick Manor. Scorpius was not there to wake him. A glance at the grandfather clock told him it was far later than he was usually woken.

Each fact, while not completely terrifying isolate, conspired together to make his heart lurch sickeningly and send him rushing through his door to the opposing room.

He knocked, out of habit, but he didn’t wait for an answer before bursting into the bedroom. He didn’t care what state he might have caught the other boy in, he just wouldn’t to stop the aching panic that would only be righted when he set eyes on his friend again. He thought wildly, as he came face to face with the neatly made bed completely devoid of anyone, he must’ve been getting a little taste of what it had been like when Scorpius had emerged from that lake alone.

He knew rationally that there could be many reasons that Scorpius wasn’t there but there was an pain within him that wouldn’t let up. Since they’d arrived at that house, admittedly not long ago, they’d established a sort of routine so neither of them would be forced to face the rest of the world alone. But now that routine was shattered, Scorpius not there to wake him, and that, combined with the note in his pocket, set his mind racing.

Judging that the eldest Malfoy was likely to be at breakfast, he sped through the corridors and down the stairs until he reached the main dining hall. He didn’t pause to collect himself, before bursting through the heavy oak doors.

“Mr Mal-“ Albus began, but the words died on his lips when he spotted a familiar blonde head of hair.

Scorpius sat calmly at the table laughing, falsely Albus could tell, at the woman beside him while he buttered a piece of toast. The image was so incongruent with what he’d been expecting that Albus stood in the doorway for a beat too long, his mouth agape.

“Albus!” The man closest to the door, a portly figure often seen gossiping over a cigar, cried out. “There you are! How are you feeling young man? Scorpius told us all you were taken ill.”

“No.” Albus replied distractedly, before righting himself and stepping properly into the room. “Sorry what?

“We heard you had a headache so skipped breakfast? Scorpius told us you just needed to rest.” An elderly woman chipped in.

“No. I mean- yeah I was ill but I’m okay now. If you could excuse me I’m just-“ He gestured to where Scorpius sat, much further up the long table.

“Of course! Wouldn’t want to keep you from your love- so glad to see you better already.”

“Right.” Albus muttered, his brow furrowed in confusion.

There had to be some mistake, a miscommunication either between himself and Scorpius or the guests, because he could think of no reason for Scorpius to lie about his health and not wake him up. Maybe he’d tried but Albus had mumbled something in his sleep that had given the wrong impression? Or else he’d simply forgotten to wake him and the guests had made up some story in his absence?

Whatever it was, he felt shaken as he made his way down the room to where his best friend sat. A second earlier he’d felt as if he was spinning out of control, unattached from the world without the anchor of knowing Scorpius was safe, but though he could now see that Scorpius was alive and well he felt no more surefooted than before.

 “You’re feeling better then?” The elderly man said, as Albus approached their table. “Scorpius was just saying how you came down with a terrible headache.”

Scorpius was staring fixedly at his plate and Albus could see beneath the table where his anxiously jiggling leg betrayed his stoicism.

“Much better.” Albus said.

“Marvellous.” The woman next to Scorpius said. “Then you must sit for breakfast- I insist I was about to get up to go speak to Geraldine anyway.”

“Ah- No it’s alright I just wanted to speak to Scorp-“

“I absolutely insist! You must keep your strength up.”

Albus tried to protest, the last thing he wanted was to sit and make awkward small talk bound by societal conventions that meant he couldn’t just ask his best friend what the hell was going on, but it was futile. The woman was already standing and proffering the chair to him.

“Thanks.” He tried to smile but it came out as a grimace.

He was acutely aware of the way Scorpius stiffened as he took his seat and, though Albus attempted to catch his gaze, his eyes remained pointedly fixed on his breakfast. He could feel the tension radiating from the other boy but, surrounded by all the adults, felt powerless to understand why.

Though he wasn’t hungry, he grabbed a piece of cold toast and nibbled half-heartedly at the crust just for something to do. He felt the strangest urge to reach under the table and place his hand on Scorpius’ knee, to calm his constant motion, but he somehow felt that it would be the wrong thing to do.

“Scorpius,” He said softly, angling himself towards the other boy. “We need to-“

“Mr Urquart!” Scorpius blurted out, leaning forward to capture the attention of the startled man opposite. “You know I’m just highly fascinated with erm- the regulation of Floo Powder. What’s it like working in the department of transportation?”

The man seemed vaguely confused but flattered by the abrupt question and was perfectly content to engage Scorpius in a tediously long and boring monologue about his job.

Albus felt cold all over. He knew Scorpius was avoiding him. There was no other explanation for the way he peppered the guests with inane questions, the way he refused to look at Albus, the way he held himself taut and tense.

 He urgently needed to talk to the other boy but he couldn’t find the words, the excuse, to get him to pay attention to him. It wasn’t just the note that they needed to discuss, though its crinkling in his pocket served as a constant reminder of the imminent danger they faced, but their whole friendship.

Albus had thought it was good.

Albus had thought he hadn’t ruined everything by showing Scorpius what he wanted.

Albus wasn’t sure what he thought anymore.

He let the pointless conversations wash over him for fifteen minutes, petulantly chewing on the last of his toast, before it grew unbearable. People were beginning to drift away from the tables into the hall and Albus was determined that he and Scorpius would follow them.

That’s why he kicked Scorpius in the shin.

“I’ve always considered Floo Powder travel to be overlooked in the- Ouch!” Scorpius exclaimed, turning to give a wide-eyed surprised glare at Albus and thus making proper eye contact with him for the first time that morning. He blushed and turned away when he saw Albus staring right back.

“Scorpius- I’m feeling kind of tired, isn’t it time we went to work on that project we have?”

“I-“ Scorpius stuttered, looking down at his plate and flushing.

“Of course.” Mr Urquart responded. “You two should be off, I do apologise for keeping your boyfriend occupied for so long Mr Potter. Good luck with your schoolwork- and make sure your boy looks after you while you’re under the weather. Whenever I’m ill Mrs Urquart can’t be torn away from me. I expect your man is quite the same. You seem so fond of each other, regardless I’m still chatting away. It was nice to breakfast with you both.”

“Right.” Albus smiled, as the older man got up and left the table. “Thanks. See you later.”

Scorpius stood up almost immediately with a shaky abruptness that signalled how odd things were between them. He began to walk at a brisk pace towards the exit barely giving the other boy any time to scramble from his chair and follow.

“We need to talk.” Albus said as he caught up with his friend, attempting to make the statement sound less ominous than it might normally be perceived.

“Right. Library! Or did we decide we were sick of libraries? Always under attack when I enter a library these days. We could go outside. Or join my relatives. We have been neglecting them. Or even-“

“Scorpius!” Albus cried, interrupting him as his frustration boiled over. “No. Look. Let’s just-“

He looked around wildly at the corridor and spotted a door to their left. Without thinking too hard about it, he gently grabbed Scorpius’ arm and tugged him inside.

They seemed to have entered a small drawing room, with a variety of overstuffed armchairs and elaborately uncomfortable chaise lounges, and Albus just hoped it wasn’t somewhere they were likely to be interrupted.

“Why didn’t you wake me up this morning?” Albus asked as soon as the door shut behind them. He hadn’t meant his voice to sound so hurt. He hadn’t even meant to ask that question, had planned to lead with the discovery of the note, but when he looked at Scorpius he found it was the only thing on his mind.

“I don’t know. It was nothing. I forgot. Let’s just leave it?” He was looking at his feet, kicking and fidgeting, to avoid meeting the other boy’s gaze.

“You’re upset.” Albus said, as if the idea of it was only just dawning on him.

“It’s nothing.”

“You told me that I couldn’t ignore my problems. I’m telling you the same thing. Don’t ignore your problems.” His voice turned softer, quieter. “Don’t ignore me.”

“I didn’t want to talk about this Albus. I’m not mad at you. I’m not- it’s myself. And, it’s just something I working through. It’s fine.”

“Scorpius.” Albus tried to reach out and Scorpius stepped back.

“Just tell me-“ And suddenly Scorpius was looking up, staring right at Albus. “Did you figure it out?”

“What? Figure out what?” Albus asked, taken aback by the strange question.

“Figure out that you’re straight? I know Albus. I know that you have a hard time thinking past the end of your nose and that’s fine. I accept it. You’re my best friend- and that’s just who you are and you’re getting better. But then I told you I was gay and then we were kissing and you wanted to try it out- and you just didn’t think about me. That’s okay. It’s okay. I just couldn’t see you this morning- I just needed time. And now you’re here. And you’ve figured out that you’re straight. That’s fine. Just next time? Leave me out of the experiment.”

“I’m not-“ Albus was stuttering, he could barely believe what was coming out of Scorpius’ mouth. It must’ve been true to some degree that he hadn’t thought past himself, because he could scarcely believe that this was how he’d come across to the other boy, hadn’t know that was how it looked to someone like Scorpius Malfoy. He was scrambling for the words to get him to understand but they were turning to dust in his mouth. “I’m not straight. I like boys and girls.”

“That’s great.” He even sounded like he meant it, but his eyes gave him away. “Glad I could help, be your test subject, now you can go find Martin Zabini. I did think he had a crush on you.”

“Scorpius I don’t-“

“It’s okay.” He said, and then he was hurrying past him and heading for the door. “I just want some time, and space, not like time-space time travel style just -  I’m going out for some air.”

“Wait.” Albus stepped out the way, but couldn’t bring himself to let the other boy leave. Still, the right things to say weren’t coming to the surface and he felt like he was wading through an emotional minefield with no clear path to the best outcome. He thought he knew what he wanted but he couldn’t say it yet, his mouth wouldn’t let him, so he just dug a hand into his pocket and pulled out the note. “I woke up and this was in my room. I know we thought it was a possibility but now we know for sure. Castitate et Tenebrae- they’re here.”

 

()

Scorpius kept playing with the note. Unfolding. Folding. Shoving it in his pocket. Taking it back out and repeating the process ad nauseam.

It wasn’t helping anyone or anything but it was an outlet for his anxiety. He wasn’t sure what he was worried about anymore, whether it was Albus or the cult or something else, just that nothing felt right. So he kept playing with the paper, sat on the cold steps of the Mansions’ terrace, and tried to tell himself that he was okay.

“Scorpius! What are you doing out here all alone? Everything okay?” It was his cousin CeCe who was approaching, her high heels clacking on the steps as she walked down to where he sat.

“Fine!” He panicked, shoving the note back in his pocket in a rush before realising she wouldn’t have been able to read anything on it anyway.

“Hmm.” She muttered suspiciously, before shrugging and taking a seat next to him. “Where’s lover boy then?”

“Ah- he’s not my lover. We don’t love. Just boyfriend-type people. Not loving. Just-“ Scorpius trailed off awkwardly, tugging on his sleeves.

“You love him?” She asked, sounding amused.

Scorpius took his time. He was staring out at the grounds, at nothing in particular, trying to disentangle the mass of emotions he felt he was drowning in. He took a deep breath.

“I love him.” He said, confessing to himself for the first time what he’d known subconsciously for a long time. “I’m in love with him.”

“Then he’s your lover boy.” Cousin Cece joked gently, knocking her knee against his in a friendly gesture.

They sat in silence for another second longer.

“I think we’re going to leave.” Scorpius stated, not realising it was true until he’d said it out loud.

“Leave?” She seemed taken aback. “Why? You have to stay for the dinner tomorrow- it’s practically a ball in your honour. Have you had a tiff or something?”

“I don’t know.” He looked down at his lap. “This place just isn’t good for us.”

He knew he was right, though why he was telling his cousin this he wasn’t sure, but in every way Blishwick Manor had ruined the boys. If they left, they could be free from scrutiny, the constant need for Albus to pretend he loved Scorpius would dissipate and Scorpius could stop hurting all the time, they could be real friends again. And he felt, now the note had arrived, that being together at this reunion was just playing into Castitate et Tenebrae’s plan and by leaving they could delay it for a while. They could form their own retaliation in a place that didn’t make Scorpius feel as if he was going insane.

“I think you’ll figure it out.” Cece said sympathetically, standing up and patting him maternally on the shoulder. “Just talk to him. And promise me you won’t spend too long out here in the cold- I know it’s summer but it’s still England”

He heard the click clack of her retreat back to the house but made no move to follow. He still needed some time just to sit, alone, and contemplate what he was meant to do next.

()

Albus was giving Scorpius the space he wanted, so he couldn’t understand why he felt guilty about it. When he’d let the other boy walk out the door, clutching the note from the morning, he’d felt like he was doing the wrong thing but was powerless to stop it.

It was almost as if he was apart from his body, watching himself make the mistake but being unable to do anything about it. He knew how to make it better. But that required an explanation he wasn’t ready to voice.

He wasn’t sure how he felt he just knew it wasn’t bad and had thought that would be enough. But watching Scorpius walk away, the words dying on his lips, he was realising it wasn’t.

He wanted to go search for him and do something, anything, to make things okay again. But Scorpius needed space, so Albus sat on the dumb fancy sofa with his head in his hands trying to work up the courage to face the rest of the world.

He only looked up when he heard the sound of the door opening.

“Hey Albus.” Scorpius said, smiling tentatively as he shut the door behind himself.

“Scorpius.” Albus stood up immediately.

“Sorry about before.”

“No- don’t.”

“We can just forget about it.” Scorpius widened his smile, but Albus could see the way it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“We don’t-“

“Please.” Scorpius interrupted. “Just forget it? For me? If you won’t I’ll be forced to obliviate you and we both know I only know about its theory. Who knows what would happen in practice.”

“Okay.” Albus let out a shaky laugh. “But only because I’m scared of your wand work.”

He looked down, cursing himself for going along with the other boy and deflecting from the truth with a joke. He knew that he should tell Scorpius what he’d meant by the night before, how he really felt, but every time he tried to form the words he found he couldn’t. He wanted to give Scorpius everything but was afraid of what that meant. He never thought he’d feel the way he did and he was too scared of what Scorpius would said. If he said it to his face he’d never be able to turn back.

He wasn’t ready for that.

“Great. Spiffing. Perfect.” Scorpius smiled again, and dragged his eyes away from the floor to Albus. “And I was just thinking, about this note and place. I think that-“

There was knock at the door and it was flung open.

“Aunt Alberta?” Scorpius spun around to shoot an astonished expression at the doorway.

A portly, aged woman stood in the threshold of the room surveying them with a grin that was, presumably, meant to come across as friendly but was inching more towards predatory. The boys recognised her as the elderly figure who’d been unable to discuss anyone but herself for their whole meal with her and it took everything within Albus for him to stop from letting out an audible groan.

“There you are boys! We’ve been wondering where you got to.” Alberta laughed, entering the room fully and shutting the door behind herself. The boys were too distracted to notice when she flicked her wand at the lock.

“Just talking.” Albus said, eyeing Scorpius as he stepped towards him, away from his Aunt, and nearly tripped over a foot stool.

“How lovely! But don’t forget that you promised me some time to get to know you.” Her voice was growing deeper and something about the whole scenario was leaving the boys unsettled.

“He’s Albus Malfoy. I mean Potter, obviously, I’m the Malfoy. But you knew that! So- see you do know us! Ha. Probably better than we know ourselves because we can both be, no offence Albus, quite oblivious.”

“Hmm. I’ve noticed that.” The woman let out an oddly humourless bark of laughter.

“Is everything okay Mrs Blishwick?” Albus inquired, more to distract himself from thinking about Scorpius calling him Albus Malfoy.  

“Perfect.” She bared her teeth, and then her wand was raised and pointing in their direction.

The two boys did nothing but blink at her, more out of sheer surprise than fear, and Scorpius took an instinctive step towards Albus.

“Woah. Aunt Alberta- this is not the same woman that I remember giving me gobstones for my birthday.” Scorpius said, looking alarmed.

“That’s because it’s not.” She smiled. “I’m using her to speak directly to you. She needs to deliver a message.”

“Oh boy. A message.” Albus muttered under his breath, disguising the fear that was making his heart beat quicker.

 “This is Castitate et Tenebrae.” She said.

 Both boys knew without being told that the message was from them, but it was still chilling to hear it said out loud.

 “We wanted you to know a few things before you made any rash decisions.” The elderly woman’s eyes glowed an odd, sickly yellow for a second before returning to normal. If there had been any doubt that she was under an unusual spell there wasn’t anymore. “It seems that you might be unaware of how much power we have here. There are countless people scattered across this house whom we are in control of- and if we wanted we could get them to do anything.”

Albus was trying to remember if he’d picked up his wand that morning but he was filled with a sinking suspicion that he’d left it discarded by his bedside table. He’d known that there was a dangerous cult targeting him and had left himself unarmed. He wanted to curse himself for being so stupid. He’d been in such a panicked rush and used to not using his wand in summer, that he’d simply left it behind. He prayed that Scorpius had his and, if his unsubtle scrambling in his pockets was any indication, it seemed he probably did.

“I’ll give you a demonstration.” Alberta-but-not-Alberta said. “And don’t think about getting that wand from your pocket Mr Malfoy.”        `              

“Damn.” Scorpius cursed, giving up and settling from balling his hands in fists at his side.

With her wand and eyes still trained on the two boys, the older woman searched in the pockets of her robes until her hand emerged brandishing an ornate knife. Without saying a word, the woman pressed the knife against her own throat.

Albus took a sharp intake of breath. He was struggling to remain in the moment, because all he could think of was Craig- the schoolmate he barely knew- and how he’d died because of him, how he would do anything to stop that happening. He couldn’t let another person die for him, no matter how insufferable their dinnertime topics of conversation were, and he felt frozen with panic at the idea of it.

“Caught your attention?” The woman smirked, and it was deeply unsettling to watch her gloating whilst pressing a knife to her own throat.

The boys watched as she angled the knife, dug a little deeper, until a speck of blood was drawn that began to roll down her neck towards her pristine robes.

“Enough.” Albus said, his voice rough.

“Sorry.” The woman didn’t react to the smear of blood that now stained her. “We thought you’d enjoy it the muggle way- you do have such a fondness for those animals.”

“What to do you want?” Scorpius asked, softly.

“Nothing yet. Just a little warning. Don’t act out of turn, don’t think you can leave and outrun us.”

“This isn’t the end.” Albus said, not sure if he was talking to himself or the cult.

“No.” The woman replied simply. “It isn’t.”

She dropped the knife from her throat, sliding it back into her pocket, causing Albus’ whole body to sag with relief.

“We’ll see you at the ball.” The woman said, dropping her wand and shutting her eyes.

When she opened them again, there was such a marked changed from their previously glazed possessed quality that the boys wondered how they hadn’t caught on immediately.

“Oh.” Aunt Alberta said. “Sorry- dizzy moment! Did I interrupt something?”

The boys blinked at her, she smiled uncomfortable.

“Sorry.” Albus recovered first. “We were just having a private talk, about stuff, sorry.”

“Ah. Don’t worry.” She seemed confused, but not scared. “I know what it’s like to be young and in love. My Bertie was just like you two. Anyway- I’ll leave you be.”

She swept out the room as if nothing had happened. It seemed she had no idea of the threats she’d been made to carry out, unaware of the small spot of blood that marred her clothing, unknowing of how close she was to danger.

“Merlin.” Albus sighed, throwing himself down at the nearest sofa and running a trembling hand through his hair.

He tucked his legs beneath him and Scorpius came to perch on the space left beside him.

 “People are never who they say they are anymore. Literally.” Scorpius said after a moment, and Albus let out a small snort of agreement.

He knew Albus was thinking about Craig, and that night, could see it in the way he tensed his body and clenched his jaw. It wasn’t that Scorpius hadn’t been devastated by it too- but Albus had taken the brunt of the pain. He felt responsible for everything that had occurred with Delphi. And, sometimes, Scorpius caught Albus looking at him like he was reliving his torture again.

Albus said he didn’t have a hero complex. But Scorpius saw the way he hurt when he couldn’t save everyone. He may not have gotten on with his father, but they were more alike than he knew.

“I was going to suggest we leave here. Just get away.”

“Not anymore huh?” Albus asked.

“Definitely not. Stupid idea. Absolutely terrible plan.”

They paused again.

“Still wish we could.” He admitted.

“Me too.” Albus sighed.

“There’s no shame in wanting to run away.” Scorpius said, as if he’d read Albus’ mind. “We’re only fifteen. This shouldn’t be our lives.”

Albus shook his head.

“You never run away though Scorpius. Not ever.” He said.

“That’s because I’m terribly unfit.” Scorpius joked, before turning towards him with a sadder look across his delicate features. “And not true. I run. I do.”

“You don’t though.” Albus replied, finally looking up and straight at the other boy. “With Delphi- you were being tortured and- and you were so ready to die there. You told me what I had to do. I wouldn’t- without you there I couldn’t have done it. But I knew you were facing it. And the rumours about you Scorpius, you never pretended like you didn’t hear them, you said to me- that first day in the carriage- that you knew what people said. You could’ve run, could’ve done anything else. Even telling me you were gay. I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop my instinct to flee.”

He knew he was no longer talking about just the cult, or the danger, but the way he was running from his feelings towards Scorpius. The way he could barely bring himself to acknowledge them in his head, let alone tell him.

“You give me entirely too much credit.” Scorpius sniffed, on the verge of tears. And then he reached out blindly to curl his hand around Albus’ ankle where it lay next to him. He’d wanted to hold his hand but his fear kept him cautious. So much for not running. Still, he ran his thumb in a comforting gesture on the bare skin where the other boy’s socks and trousers did not meet. He felt Albus shiver. “I believe in you Albus Potter. So stop beating yourself up. You always end up doing the right thing. I know you do. I know you will. We will- we’ll do the right thing together.”

Albus was never sure he could meet up to the world’s expectations of him. He was a Potter in Slytherin. He was the son of a Hero but possessed no discernible talents. He’d had all the privileges in life but he’d still ended up unhappy. But, when he looked at Scorpius, sometimes he thought he could be the man his best friend thought he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like some people won't have liked the direction I took this chapter haha, sorry! Feel free to ask me any questions about why I think they'd react this way! Please let me know what you think, any comment makes my day. Thank you for coming this far with me - not too much longer to go. :)


	9. Maybe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys deal with the new reality of their situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Again sorry for the wait, again sorry for any mistakes because no one proof reads it. We're getting steadily closer to the end, maybe 3 more chapters left after this? But i say that and this chapter was meant to move things on much more but the boys just had a lot to say. So it may be more, who knows. Anyway, enjoy!

They stayed like that for a while: Scorpius absentmindedly tracing patterns with his thumb against Albus’ skin, tired and overwhelmed, feeling like small children not ready to face the task ahead. It was difficult, to want to escape into the comfort of childhood but knowing you couldn’t. They didn’t have a choice, and it was stifling.

“Do you think they have my dad?” Scorpius asked, breaking the heavy silence they’d fallen into.

“I don’t know.” Albus replied, instantaneously feeling guilty that he hadn’t thought of Mr Malfoy at all. “Maybe not.”

“Maybe.” Scorpius sighed, lifting his hand off Albus and running it through his hair.

“But I reckon your Dad’s too powerful for that.” Albus said, shifting and sitting up properly so he could really look at Scorpius, who was looking at a point somewhere in the distance. “He’s a real Wizard. He’s lived through things way worse than we have, and some stupid cult isn’t going to be able to wield any power over him. I know enough about your Dad to know that.”

“Maybe.” Scorpius repeated, still not looking in the other boy’s direction.

“And if they do have him-“ He reached and gripped the other boy’s wrists tightly, causing him to look up in surprise. “Which they don’t - but if they do then we’ll stop them. You were right before. We can do it.”

Albus felt himself filling with rage, a sensation not unfamiliar to him, but now it wasn’t directed towards his dad or his own celebrity but rather the world around him. He felt a new purposeful lilt to the taste of this rage. This rage was designed for something. It was designed to bring down anyone who ever made Scorpius look like he did, sad and beaten, aimed ar anyone who ever hurt him in that way.

“Okay.” Scorpius said, softly and then louder. “Okay. Let’s do it. Let’s carry on trying to do something. I don’t want to see them hurting anyone else.”

Albus thought about the look on Craig’s face when he’d died, about visiting his grave, and then he thought about Cedric, the way Amos Diggory had been broken by his son’s absence, and the innocent woman who an hour ago had held a knife to her own throat, and then he looked at Scorpius and remembered him screaming in pain under torture. All because of Albus. All of the lines crisscrossing and meeting up until they pinned him down in the centre.

“We won’t.” He said, shaking his head roughly. “No more hurting.”

“No more hurting.” Scorpius said in agreement, and then Albus released him from his grip and stood up.

There was a second of awkward hesitation, and then Albus held out his hand for the other boy to grab. Scorpius levered himself up and, smiling gratefully, threaded their hands together.

It felt strange to Scorpius that, only a few short hours ago, he’d finally admitted both to himself and his cousin that he was in love with his best friend. It had been brewing for a long time, a niggling feeling that reared its head whenever Albus talked about a girl or he caught himself admiring the other boy for too long, but he hadn’t wanted to acknowledge it. It was only now that he was accepting that he’d fallen in love a while back, maybe even the moment they’d met when Albus had stayed in that train carriage despite what history dictated.  But he realised, almost at the exact same time that he admitted the truth about his feelings, Albus could never know. There was too much potential for pain there. It had hurt too much when he’d lost his friend to his father’s grudge, and hurt again when he’d become part of some romantic experiment simply because he was convenient and confusing to Albus. He had to protect himself and their friendship, and that meant protecting them from the truth.

And yet, the lines between them were blurry. Scorpius couldn’t help himself, just sometimes, from blurring them further. Turning the gesture of help into an excuse to hold hands.  The solid presence of another boy’s hand in his was a comfort that he needed desperately. He couldn’t be sure of his father’s state, therefore he needed to be sure that he had Albus. Otherwise, he’d be utterly alone.

They paused on the threshold of the room, neither making a move to turn the doorknob and enter the rest of the world. Out there, there were dozens of people ready to coo, question, and tease them. Any one of them could be under Castitate et Tenebrae’s control. Any one of them could be a second away from death, whether it was their own or the boys they were so obsessed with.

It was an overwhelming thought. And both boys, just for a second, tightened their grip of each other.

There were monsters out there, but at least they weren’t facing them alone.

{}

They spent the rest of the day opposite each other on Scorpius’ humongous bed, a position they seemed to be occupying a lot, throwing various charms and curses at Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes products to try to achieve the result they wanted.

This kind of experimenting required an awful lot of underage magic, aka rule breaking, but the boys couldn't bring themselves to care. (As Scorpius had put it: “If we get caught before the cult get us then maybe the Ministry could actually sort out this mess. And if we get caught after then we’ll either be dead or heroes and you can’t expel a dead man or a hero from Hogwarts. If you could your Dad would’ve been expelled in first year.”)

At the end of the day, they had something workable in front of them. But looking at it didn’t exactly fill them with confidence. The product, once a joke and now a weapon, battered with spells and charms, looked laughably small in the centre of the bed. Compared to what their enemies had, unknowable runes, knives, and spells that far surpassed their fourth year knowledge, the boys had nothing. But nothing was all they had. So nothing would have to do.

“I’m exhausted.” Scorpius admitted, as he gingerly placed the object on their bedside table and then collapsed onto his pillows.

Albus crawled up until he was next to Scorpius on the bed, and then fell himself into the pile of cushions. Shutting his eyes and sighing deeply. They’d had breaks, for tense trips to the dining hall, but the day had been long and hard. They’d exerted all their magic, their thoughts, and emotions. And they were simply done.

“Me too.”

“Do you think it will work?” Scorpius asked.

“I don’t know.” Albus responded truthfully. “I’ve barely even know what it is.”

“It has to work.” Scorpius said determinedly, and then his voice cracked, turning quieter in the silence. “I just keeping thinking about my Dad. Did you notice anything strange at dinner? I just keep thinking- I can’t lose him Albus. Not him too.”

Albus cracked his eyes open immediately and saw that Scorpius was crying, just slightly, a few stray tears staining his pale skin. It hurt to watch him like this. His voice and face so open, so achingly real, that it made Albus momentarily dizzy. He couldn’t imagine pain like that, so he didn’t try to, he just nudged himself closer and pulled the other boy against him.

There was nothing sexual about the act, nor even romantic, he was just offering comfort in the only way he felt he could. Scorpius ended up at the crook of his neck, burying his head against the soft cotton of his t-shirt, and Albus let him cry for a little while. And it felt nice to be close, to have his arms around him, less scary. Albus could feel Scorpius’ heart beat next to his.

“You’re not going to lose him.” Albus finally whispered against the other boy’s head. “He’s too strong for that. You’re too strong for that. This thing is going to work. And if it doesn’t we’ll figure something else out when the time comes. The Dark Lord couldn’t beat us and neither will these idiots.”

“The Dark Lord probably _could_ have beaten us if we’d-“ Scorpius tried to sit up a little.

“Nope.” Albus gently nudged the other boy back down. “We’re invincible. You’re Malfoy the Magnificent, Scorpio the Sensational.”

“It was sensual.” Scorpius said into the other boy’s neck, and he Albus could feel the shape of a small smile against his skin.

“Sorry. Scorpio the sensual.” Albus said in an almost-whisper, and the feeling of the breath ghosting across Scorpius hair nearly made him shiver.

“Better.” He joked.

“Can I tell you something?” Albus asked, and then to lighten the tension. “Scorpion King?”

“Always.” Scorpius was smiling now, shifting so he was no longer buried into Albus’ neck but staying close enough that they were still touching. Albus kept his arms around the other boy.

“You’re always honest with me.” Albus began, and Scorpius felt the sharp sting of guilt when he thought about how wrong he was. “About your nightmares, your worries, and I just want to tell you something in return.

“Okay.”

“Sometimes Scorpius,” Albus shut his eyes, looking at Scorpius often made it difficult for him to think straight, or scared him out of being truthful. “I can’t stand it when we’re apart. I think, I think I worry. Sometimes I shut my eyes and all I can see is you getting tortured, again, and again. When you’re here,” He tightened his grip just slightly to emphasise the point. “I know that you’re safe. No one can use you against me. No one is hurting you. I just, I like it when you’re near.”

“I like it when you’re near too.” Scorpius admitted. “It’s- safer.”

 “Right.” Albus finally worked up the courage to open his eyes, and look at the other boy. He saw understanding in his eyes and he let out a little sigh of relief.

“I wish you didn’t have to leave.” Scorpius said, all in a rush and flushed with an embarrassment. “I meant tonight, for bed, I wish it was like back in the dorms.”

“I don’t have to.” Albus said carefully, nudging the other boy so he’d look at him. “I could stay here.”

“My dad..”

“I’ll sleep on the floor.” He offered, now that Scorpius had voiced it he felt a heavy sense of reluctance at leaving this room for his own bed. He’d meant what he said, he felt immeasurably better when he knew Scorpius was right next to him.

“You don’t have to.” Scorpius protested half-heartedly.

“I’ll get loads of cushions from my bed. C’mon, it’ll be like a sleepover.”

That’s what finally swayed his already mostly crumbled resolve. Scorpius had never had sleepovers, had never really had friends as a child, and he’d always wanted one. He’d read about them in books, pretended with his imaginary friend, but that hadn’t been the same as actually having one. And though he knew he should be distancing himself a little from Albus, to avoid another incident like the one last night, he didn’t want to. He wanted to be close to him, and he didn’t have the willpower to deny himself that.

“Okay.”

()

The two boys went back and forth between their rooms, piling the cushions close to Scorpius’ bed until there was enough to sleep on them semi-comfortably. Scorpius felt like he should object, or give up his bed or something, but he didn’t. There was no point, not when they both wanted Albus to stay.

Scorpius didn’t bother changing into his pyjamas and neither did Albus, they just shucked off their jeans and got into bed. (Blushing and turning away from each other in their pants, wondering why they’d never felt embarrassed to dress in front of each other before their time at the Manor.)

Then they lay there, a sole lamp casting shadows on their bodies, thinking about the day that had passed and the ones yet to come.

“What are you thinking about?” Scorpius asked, when he couldn’t stand the silence any longer.

“This whole trip. I don’t know why I ever thought this was a good idea.” Albus said, sighing as he stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling. “Lying and coming here, pretending that we could do this alone, getting ourselves in this mess.”

“You thought it was a good idea?” Scorpius replied, sounding genuinely surprised.

Albus sat up, resting on his elbows to shoot the other boy an incredulous look. “I went along with it didn’t I? Did you not think it was a good idea?”

“Not particularly.” Scorpius admitted, and Albus could almost hear the shrug in his voice.

“It was your plan.” Albus insisted.

“Just because I thought it up doesn’t mean I thought it was a good idea. It was just the only idea I had.”

Albus paused for a moment and, for the first time since they’d entered Blishwick Manor, he began to laugh. Not just a small chuckle, or a giggle he couldn’t stop escaping, but a full belly laugh that started in the pit of his stomach and spread to the tips of his fingers and toes. A laugh that made tears appear in the corner of his eyes and forced him clutch his stomach like a clichéd cartoon.

“You’re laughing at me.” Scorpius said, but he sounded more perplexed than accusatory.

“Well- yes.” Albus managed to get out, in between wheezing breathes, as he manoeuvred himself so he was kneeling and leaning his elbows atop the tall, imposing bed where his best friend lay. “You told your dad we were dating- you basically accidentally outed yourself- and got me to lie to everyone we know. Including my own family and the newspapers. Got us trapped in this mansion with a cult that it almost-definitely trying to kill us and take over the wizarding world. And you didn’t- you didn’t even think it was a good idea.”

He was laughing hard again, resting his head against the covers of the other boy’s bed like the hilarity was too exhausting for him to deal with.

“There were a lot of ‘yous’ in that speech.” The other boy sniffed, though Albus could tell it lacked any actual annoyance. “I think you’re forgetting that you did agree to go along with it. And you know I only said we were dating because I was panicking and panicking always makes me say stupid things. I wasn’t built to withstand pressure. I’m much better in a nice stress-free fun quiz situation. So really Albus, you only have yourself to blame for the cult stuff. I’ll admit that it was my own fault I accidentally came out but it stops about there.”

“It’s just all that- all that and you didn’t even- even think it was a good idea? It’s just such a- a _Scorpius_ thing to do.” Albus looked up, eyes sparkling and mouth twisted into a real grin, and Scorpius felt a breath catch in his throat.

The other boy looked so young, carefree, and happy, that Scorpius was taken aback by the rush of affection he felt. So he didn’t fight his own laughter that was bubbling within him, but crinkled up his nose and let it loose. He wasn’t even laughing because of what the other had said, but because the world was crumbling around them, Albus’ laugh was infectious, and he was in love with him.

“Can’t we just-“Scorpius panted in between gasps and laughter. “just agree that we’re both – both prats.”

“You’re definitely a prat.” Albus said, falling backwards so he was lying down again amongst the cushions. “But you’re my prat. So it’s okay.”

Scorpius shut his eyes tight, let the last of his hysteria escape him, and imagined a world where he could respond to that in the way he wanted. _And you’re mine_ He would say, before he’d reach down to bring the other boy onto the bed and kiss him. But that wasn’t this world. And Scorpius wasn’t brave enough to pretend it was.

“Oh go to sleep, you idiot. Before I kick you out for insolence.” He mock-grumbled when he got his breath back.

“Switch the light off then.” Albus replied, and Scorpius could still hear the laughter in his voice.

He leant over to switch out the light and, because it was the only thing he felt brave enough to do, he settled himself close to the edge of the bed leaving his arm dangling over the side.

The dark in Blishwick Manor was thick and heavy, so Scorpius knew that Albus mustn’t have been able to see his hand where it hung over the side. And yet he seemed to sense it, because it only took a few seconds for him to reach up and entwine their fingers together. Though it must’ve been uncomfortable for him, his arm stretched at an angle thanks to the high bed, Albus kept hold of Scorpius’ hand for a long while, until his grip slackened into sleep.

{}

Draco hesitated outside the door to his son’s room. He’d been doing that a lot lately, pausing when it came to Scorpius, afraid of where and when to tread. It was difficult, being a father, and being alone. Especially now that his son was getting older, putting himself in danger, and bringing home boyfriends for the family to meet. Since the odd morning with the boys he’d been giving them some space, afraid to wander where he was unwanted, but this morning he felt the urge to go wake his son up.

Still, something was stopping him. And, as he nudged the door open gently, he thought he might’ve found the reason why. Maybe, he’d sensed that his son was not alone and didn’t need him interrupting. His heart constricted as he took in the scene before him: Albus fast asleep on the floor, propped up by a mismatch of cushions taken from the two bedrooms, and Scorpius sleeping so close to the edge of his own, large bed it seemed he was in danger of falling off at any minute. He noticed the way Scorpius’ hand was dangling off the mattress, close to where Albus lay, and the idea that they might have fallen asleep holding hands made Draco unexpectedly emotional for a reason he couldn’t quite explain.

It might have had something to do with the memories of himself at Scorpius’ age. He had often longed for someone he could confide in, who he could trust always, that wasn’t just another minion.  Though he’d found those qualities in abundance in Astoria, that had been years after the war and he’d spent much of his teenage years feeling completely alone. There were times he often wondered, if he’d found someone like Scorpius had found Albus, how different things might’ve turned out. The fact was, he had had no one to hold him when he needed it, and no one to tell him to stop when he was spinning out of control.

 The fact that Albus and Scorpius had found a way to be near each other, without disobeying his orders to stay in their own beds, filled him with a rush of sentiment. It was nice to know Scorpius wasn’t alone like he had been, and when he observed the two boys together he didn’t think he ever would be. And it felt too intimate a moment to intrude on, though it was his own son, so he just shut the door quietly and slipped out as if he had never been there.

There would be plenty of time to see his son, and he deserved the space to be with the boy he loved. He couldn’t make the world an easier place for them, couldn’t wish away the rumours or taunts, but he could let them dream that he had, for a little while longer at least.

{}

Albus woke up the next morning with a terrible crick in his neck, stiff limps, and a sore back. But he wouldn’t have traded his makeshift mattress for the most comfortable bed in the world, because that bed wouldn’t have a snoozing Scorpius beside it.

Scorpius must’ve desperately needed the sleep, if Albus had woken up before him, so Albus simply stayed put and grabbed the opportunity to observe Scorpius in a way he never normally got to. He started with the hand that dangled near him, which made him blush when he remembered he’d fallen asleep holding it. And then the feet, in pale green socks, that were poking out of the end of the covers in a way Albus shouldn’t have found endearing but did anyway.  He saved the best for last: Scorpius face turned to him and peeking out from amidst the heavy bedclothes.

His face was softer when he was asleep, it was normally so alive with energy and thoughts whizzing through that it was only in dreams that it found its stillness. And Albus liked it a lot, _a lot._ He felt he could properly look at the other boy when he was like this, when he watched his mind lit up in thought it was too much. Like looking into the sun. But now, he could let his gaze wander. To his eyes, shut tight and framed with golden lashes, eyebrows that he wanted to reach out and smooth. The pale hair that Albus knew, out of sight, curled under his ears because he was just slightly overdue for a haircut. And then his nose, straight and thin unlike his own, and the cheekbones that were typical of the Malfoy clan but on Scorpius were less prominent, more rounded, like pillows that Albus wanted to rest his cheek on.

Finally, Albus let himself look at his lips. Pinker than they had any right to be, and softer too, looking like they belonged in a permanent pout. Albus hated those lips just then, for making him want them so badly.

He let out a sigh and leant back down, shutting his eyes. This was more than just desire, he knew that, because Scorpius was worth more than just lust. Scorpius was worth everything and then some. There was a small voice in the back of his mind, growing persistent in times like this when he watched Scorpius sleep like some creep, which was trying to get him to accept a truth he just couldn’t. That these emotions wouldn’t go away when the danger did, when they left Blishwick Manor, but were not circumstantial at all. Rather, he was in love with Scorpius, and no change of place would alter that.  That maybe he’d loved Scorpius for a while, and just hadn’t been honest with himself.

That would certainly explain a lot of things that had happened. Like their kiss, and the way he fixated on dumb things like the exact shade of Scorpius’ eyes. And when, in the past, Scorpius had talked about Rose, Albus’ smile never quite reached his eyes. Maybe that hadn’t been because his cousin hated them but because he was jealous that Scorpius was giving his attention to someone else.

But this train of thought was so filled with ifs, buts, and maybes, that Albus wanted to shake his head to rid his brain of them. It didn’t matter anyway. Scorpius had made things perfectly clear, he didn’t want to change their friendship, and Albus couldn’t risk trying to change his mind. When he’d entered that hall for breakfast, he’d felt knocked sick at the idea that Scorpius was upset with him because of their kiss. He didn’t want to feel that way again, and he didn’t want Scorpius to either. So he had to bury the truth deep within himself, pretend it didn’t exist, for the sake of them both. For sake of their friendship, something he would never gamble with.

The light was streaming in properly now and Albus heard a small snuffle coming from the other bed, which probably meant Scorpius was about to wake up any second. But he allowed himself one last look, one small acknowledgment of the boy he loved, before he shut his eyes and pushed those feelings deep down. Scorpius was just his best friend. And he always only could, and would, be.

There were more noises coming from the bed now, the sound of Scorpius coming to life, and Albus shifted before he was caught watching the other boy sleep. Another snuffle and then. “Albus.” He heard his name muttered, and felt a sick sense of satisfaction that he’d been the other boy’s first thought.

“I’m here.” He shifted so he was facing Scorpius again, and allowed himself a soft smile.

 “Mmmm. Good.” Scorpius said sleepily, eyes still half shut.

Albus couldn’t help the warm feeling that flooded his stomach at the other boy’s words, when he said things like that it was impossible. But he had to do something to stop that, stop that feeling from infiltrating his actions, so he did the first thing he could think of. He grabbed a pillow and launched it at the other boys head.

“Umf.” Scorpius batted the pillow away from his face. “What was that for?”

“You’re awful to me when you wake me up.”

“Am not.” Scorpius retorted, sitting up properly and rubbing the sleep away from his eyes. He seemed fully awake now, and Albus envied his ability to shift so naturally from dreams to reality. Albus needed a good hour to feel even semi-human when he was woken up. “And you know it’s only because if I wasn’t you’d never get up. I still remember the time in third year, I poured a cup of water over you and you just rolled to the other side of the bed and went back to sleep. You didn’t even wake up that time I accidentally charmed my curtains to sing instead of that valentine’s card. ”

“You’re exaggerating.” Albus protested.

“I’ll have you know that I do not exaggerate.”

Albus snorted.

“ _Much.”_ Scorpius continued. “And, you full well know you’re a nightmare in the mornings Albus Potter.”

"You seem to handle me alright.” He joked.

“Because I’m used to it. I developed a system our first year, I wasn’t about to go to class without my only friend just because he can’t wake up like a normal human.”

“You call shouting at me and throwing things a system?”

“Works doesn’t it?” He pointed out. “Anyway, if you would just buy me one of those muggle things then I could look up if it counts as a system or not.”

“A dictionary?”

“Yes!” Scorpius exclaimed, and Albus didn’t even need to look at him to know that his eyes were shining just at the thought of it.

“I’ll get you one for Christmas, but only if,” He sat up and gave his friend a pretend stern look. “You promise to not use your geekiness to annoy me.”

“But I love using my geekiness to annoy you.” Scorpius complained.

“Then no dictionary.”

“You’re the worst.”

“I’m the best.”

“Nope.”

“I’m the son of the boy who lived!”

“Yeah? Well, I’m the Scorpion king.”

And with that, they both burst out laughing. It wasn’t as large as the night before, as all-consuming, but it was nice all the same. Though, the chuckles died in Scorpius’ throat when he looked around and noticed the invention they’d thrown together, where it still lay on his bedside table.

“This plan might go terribly mightn’t it?” Scorpius asked, and Albus followed his gaze to the Wheezes product.

“Yeah.” He answered honestly.

“Not really a plan is? More like, if they try to grab us we have something to throw at them.”

“Pretty much.”

“At least we’re doing this together. I did say I’d choose you to wait out eternal darkness with, and this is almost as bad.”

“I’d choose someone who’s better at magic.”

“You said that last time.”

“Nah.” Albus said quieter. “Maybe I would choose you, we do work pretty well as a team.”

“I know. We should get t-shirts.”

The two boys looked at each other, holding their gazes for a beat too long, and then Albus looked away. He always looked away first. He was scared of what he might do if he didn’t.

“I need to shower.” Albus said, getting up and stretching. He felt every bone in his body crack after their uncomfortable night, but he still couldn’t find it within himself to regret it. “I’m going back to my room.”

“Right. Yes. Of course.” Scorpius said, looking away and blushing hard because Albus hadn’t put his jeans back on. He was just stood there, in his t-shirt and pants, like he’d forgotten Scorpius was even there. Or, more likely, he just didn’t realise the effect he might have on the other boy.

He gave a strangled sigh of relief when Albus slipped his trousers back on and left the room. He cursed himself and then, for good measure, cursed Albus too. Things were just always so complicated with them. There was always something, whether it be travelling through time, a creepy cult, or a serious case of unrequited love.

Scorpius wanted something that he couldn’t have, and it was just something he’d have to get used to. Luckily, he was quite accustomed to that. He didn’t have the childhood he wanted, or the acceptance from his classmates, or his mother alive and well. The only thing that he’d ever really wanted and got was a chance to cause some mayhem with a Potter. They had certainly managed to achieve that goal, and he’d have to be content to leave it at just that.

For now there were more pressing issues, like the creeping feeling that the dinner and dancing that night might be the start of everything. The woman's comments the night before had led him to believe that Castitate et Tenebrae were going to take their chance at the ball. And, if they did, Scorpius wasn’t sure who would make it back alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kind of ran away with me and it become a lot more fluff/dialogue and a lot less action? But the action is coming, I promise, and I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Let me know what you think! As always, each comment makes my day and warms my dead heart.


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